Red Right Hand
by prof.edtt
Summary: The Doctor sets out to teach his companions a lesson. Unfortunately, the lesson plans don't go as anticipated. A mysterious agency is changing history and the Doctor must discover who they are before they unravel the entire universe. Nothing is as it seems, especially Captain Light, who might be the Doctor's only chance to save the day.
1. Prologue: Seas of Blue and Pink

Prologue: Seas of Blue and Pink

"This is your fault, Rory!" the Doctor shouted back as he sprinted across the Yazoshean fields towards the safety of the TARDIS.

"My fault?" Rory, one of the Doctor's two present companion travelers responded, also in a full sprint just behind the Doctor. "You're the one that -"

"Shut up, Rory," Amy Pond snapped, taking a split second to slap his shoulder as she pushed past him. "Just run!"

Their pursuers, a massive swarm of blue and pink gunbunnies, followed close behind, squeaking in furry fury.

Rory chanced a look back and saw that the swarm was growing by the second. Gunbunnies were shimmering and splitting into twos, threes, and fours by the second. Five minutes earlier, there had been only a few hundred, now there were hundreds of thousands swarming over the lush green hills where the Doctor had decided to park his blue box.

Rory's eyes widened in terror and with a burst of speed he passed up both Amy and the Doctor. The TARDIS was still two rises away and the gunbunnies were multiplying so quickly that they were beginning to surround the fleeing trio of time travelers.

"Not far now!" the Doctor cried as they began the ascent up the final hill. "Just over this last rise."

"You said that three rises ago, Doctor," Amy panted, now pulling up the rear behind the two men. Just behind her, a gunbunny that had pulled ahead of the rest leaped at her and found purchase on her ankle. Before she could knock it away, there were four of the alien creatures on her. Tripping over the multiplying creatures, she fell hard to ground.

The Doctor heard her body hit the ground, and quickly turned back for her. Ahead of them, Rory continued to run up the hill to escape. By the time the Doctor reached Amy, she was covered in the aliens, her screams muffled by the sheer volume of blue and pink fur covering her.

The Doctor braced himself and shouted, "Sorry!" as he kicked one of the gunbunnies off of her back.

Again and again, he kicked the creatures away from her, each time saying, "Sorry!" and "So so sorry!" and "I sincerely apologize" as the gunbunnies were propelled from Amy and into the air where they multiplied in flight like organic fireworks. Grabbing her hands, the Doctor pulled Amy to her feet and they continued their escape as the rest of the gunbunny hoard pushed ever closer to them.

At the top of the hill, they found Rory standing still looking in the distance. There, in a low spot between several rolling hills before them, sat the TARDIS. Between the companions and the vessel of their escape was a veritable sea of multiplying aliens.

"Oh dear," the Doctor said quietly. "I hope you two know how to swim."

Without explanation, the Doctor ran into the oncoming waves of gunbunnies, bashing and kicking the knee deep flood of pink and blue. "Don't stop, keep moving!" he yelled back at them. "They only want to lick you!"

Grabbing Amy's hand, Rory pulled her with him into the swarm and ran after the Doctor.

Gunbunnies squeaked as they were trod on by the trio. The Doctor continued his progress, kicking and slapping the aliens away, each time expressing his sincerest apologies. The closer the companions got to the TARDIS, the deeper the sea of gunbunnies became until just ten feet or so from the doors of the strange blue box, they were completed submerged in blue and pink.

Amy and Rory managed to reach the TARDIS and were pressed in hard against the Doctor as he fumbled for his keys.

"Oi! Don't shove!" the Doctor yelled, his voice muffled by a gunbunny licking his face. The Timelord found it increasingly difficult to unlock the doors to the TARDIS as gunbunnies kept appearing in front of the keyhole.

"Doctor, what happens if they get inside the TARDIS?" Rory asked, pushing a gunbunny from his face just enough to breathe.

"I have a plan!" the Doctor said, just as the key slid home. "Aha! Now, when I open up quickly get in and help me shut the door behind us."

Pushed by the force of rapidly multiplying aliens around them, the three companions fell into the TARDIS in a quickly growing pile of pink and blue. Jumping to their feet, the three braced against the door and managed with difficulty to shut it.

"Now this might tingle," the Doctor said. From an inner pocket, he removed his sonic screwdriver and aimed it at the TARDIS console, using it as a remote control. With a flash, the pile of gunbunnies that had managed to get inside the ship vanished and an incredible stench was left behind.

"Oh my god," Rory gasped.

"That's so horrible," Amy said, covering her nose.

"Give it a minute," the Doctor said, collapsing into a seat. After a few seconds of tear-inducing stench, the smell gradually faded and the companions breathed sighs of relief.

"Six hundred years, Rory," the Doctor said frowning at the gangly boy who had caused the entire ordeal. "For six hundred years, the Yazoshean people have kept the gunbunny population in check and in two seconds you caused the biggest catastrophe the planet has seen in millennia."

"I didn't know," Rory stammered.

"You didn't know?" Amy cut in. "The second we walked into the city there were signs plastered fifty feet high saying 'Don't mix the gunbunnies'."

"They were both pink! And I checked their -" Rory gestured, pointing to his crotch. "- you know …"

"Rory, you'd need a microscope and an autopsy to see their reproductive organs," the Doctor explained. "It's in their brains. They reproduce telepathically. And honestly, just because something's pink doesn't mean its a female – you fashion fascist. Pink is cool." The Doctor started, shocked at what he had said. "No, I take that back. Pink is never, ever cool. No, sorry."

"Oh," Rory said, looking down at his feet.

"Oh, he says," Amy Pond replied sarcastically. "You probably upset the ecosystem or something or other."

"No, no," the Doctor said, rising and casually walking to the console. "No worries. Gunbunny longevity is only a day. They'll soon run out of steam and start to die. It's the stench of their dying that has the lasting affect. That will take about a year to go away."

Pulling a lever, the Doctor activated the TARDIS. With a grinding noise, muffled by the sea of reproducing gunbunnies covering it, the TARDIS disappeared from the Yazoshean fields.

"Why do they call them gunbunnies, anyway?" Amy asked, moving to stand next to the Doctor.

"Excellent question, Pond," the Doctor replied. "Easy answer. Under the right circumstances, if you were to fire a gun at a wall fifty feet away, while standing over a gunbunny, the gunbunnies would reproduce so fast as to reach the wall before the bullet. Gunbunnies."

Making several adjustments on the TARDIS console, the Doctor plotted their next jaunt in time and space.

"So where to next?" the Doctor asked them. "Planet of the Infinite Waterfall? Cotton Candy Nebula?"

"Wait a minute," Rory said, his forehead crumpled in confusion. "So what happened to the gunbunnies in here?"

"Another easy answer," the Doctor said. "I sped up time a year inside the TARDIS. They lived, they multiplied, they partied hard, and died natural deaths. All in an instant."

"What?" Amy gawked. "You mean I'm a year older?"

"Ah," the Doctor said, laughing nervously. "Happy birthday?"

Amy and Rory both silently glared at the Timelord.

Hoping to alleviate the suddenly heavy atmosphere, the Doctor pulled out a small party horn from one of his seemingly endless pockets and tooted it. "Now who wants their spankings first?" he said half-heartedly and bit his lip. "Ha. Um … yes. Bit late. Is it hot in here?"


	2. 1 History Lessons

1. History Lessons

"Funny story, this," the Doctor explained as he leaned out the door of the TARDIS. He held on tightly to the door frame and extended a small paper tube towards a billowy pink substance, just outside the blue police box. Below him was open space, an endless sea of stars.

"There was this Sontaran I knew that was a terrific gambler," he said, moving the tube in circles as the pink substance clung to it in lumps. "Could never let a bet go by him. Made a horrible warrior, and I suppose that's why they exiled him."

Behind the Doctor, Amy and Rory, his two companions were bent over the small screen of Rory's cellphone.

"Still, being a Sontaran, he couldn't help but want to battle something, so he builds a small strikeforce of mercenaries and starts taking over systems, one by one." The Doctor continued his tale as he swirled more of the pink fluff around the tube. Once that tube held a significant amount of the fluffy substance on it, he secured it by sticking one end into a pocket, then he began with another fresh paper tube. "Naturally, I couldn't let him do that any more so I offered him a wager. I told him I could create a nebula made completely of cotton candy - ridiculous doesn't even begin to describe the odds against me, and he took the bet. The stakes were that if I won, he would retire from marauding, and if he won, I'd stop giving him problems."

The two companions burst out in laughter behind him. The Doctor, assuming they were listening to his story smiled and prepared for the ending to his tale.

"And so, one supercharged matter replicator set to infinitely replicate replicators replicating replicators replicating cotton candy placed right at the center of a sun going supernova was all I needed," the Doctor said, gathering a final bit of fluff. In one motion, he pulled himself into the TARDIS, shut the doors, and held two generous clouds of pink cotton candy before him. "And voila! Goodbye Sontaran, and hello cotton candy for all!"

Both Amy and Rory were rolling on the floor laughing. The Doctor beamed a toothy smile at them, pleased with the reaction his story had garnered. He soon realized, as his smile turned to a frown, that the two companions' mirth was coming from something else.

"Look you two," he said chidingly. "I'm showing you a fantastic marvel of the universe, that I happened to have created I might add, and you're bent in half over a cellphone not even paying attention."

"What Doctor?" Amy asked, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Cotton candy!" the Doctor shouted. "It's a nebula you can eat!"

"Oh right, sorry Doctor," Rory apologized, taking the cotton candy that was offered. "It's just one of my mates posted this insane video."

"May I see it?" the Doctor asked, seemingly interested.

Rory handed over his phone. "Just hit play. It's absolutely hilarious, Doctor. You'll love it."

"Oh, I'm sure I _will_ love this," the Doctor said cryptically, pacing back towards the TARDIS doors. He watched the video for a few moments and as the video ended he expelled a brief, "Ah."

"Well? What do you think?" Amy queried.

"It's a man being headbutted in the crotch by a toddler," the Doctor stated flatly.

"It's brilliant, right?" Rory said, still chuckling to himself.

"Rory," the Doctor said, opening the TARDIS doors to reveal the Cotton Candy Nebula, "this is brilliant."

Turning towards the doors, the Doctor wound up. With a throw that would make a professional cricketer take notice, he launched Rory's phone into space where it quickly began to gather a cloud of cotton candy around it.

"Doctor!" the companions shouted in unison.

"What did you do that for?" Amy said bitterly. "Where's your sense of humor?"

"Where's your sense of perspective?" the Doctor countered angrily. "Hello! You're in a time machine. You've got infinite wonders, astounding possibilities, amazing sights to behold out these two simple doors and you're giggling over a video of slapstick garbage."

Quickly, he stalked over to the two companions and took the cotton candy from them - Rory was in mid-bite. "You don't deserve these," he said, stalking back to the doors and chucking the tasty treats back into the nebula.

"Doctor, you're being childish," Amy said, with a hint of a smile.

"I'd say he was being rude," Rory quipped. "That was an expensive phone."

"Oh, come on, Rory," the Doctor replied. "You'll just buy another the first chance you get. It's how things work down on Earth. Buy this technology, then buy the next version next year, then the next, and on and on. I don't understand how you two can be exposed to ... " The Doctor made exaggerated gestures towards the TARDIS console, the nebula outside, and the room surrounding them, " ... this! And you still are slaves to pop culture."

"Oi, now that's a bit harsh," Amy responded defensively. "I happen to think my likes are very untrendy and original. I happen to think Radiohead's awful."

"Hey!" Rory snapped, jabbing her in the ribs.

"All beside the point," the Doctor said. "As is continuously the problem with species delving into advanced technologies, your society is not maturing at the same pace as the science. If you were, you'd have been past crotch shots decades ago."

"Speaking of not maturing at the same pace, its hard for us to tell if we've matured at all with you shaving years off our lives in the blink of an eye," Amy said sarcastically.

"That was necessary," the Doctor replied. "And I gave you a huge birthday cake for it, from the greatest bakery in the universe. And, once again, that would never have happened if Rory here had been paying attention to the giant signs that said, 'Don't mix the gunbunnies'!"

"Doctor," Amy said, frowning. "He said he was sorry."

"'Sorry' is not good enough anymore," the Doctor scolded. "It's time I taught you both a lesson."

"What is this? Primary school?" Rory asked.

"Apparently so," the Doctor snapped. Without another word, he launched himself purposefully to the console and began inputting coordinates.

"Alright, Mr. Grumpyface. Where are we going?" Amy asked.

"You'll see," the Doctor said, and threw a lever initiating their next jaunt through time and space. The ship jerked, and both Amy and Rory were propelled into their seats roughly.

"Oh," the Doctor said grumpily. "Might want to hang on."

* * *

><p>Hundreds of light years away from the Cotton Candy Nebula, an armored spaceship touched down on a heavily guarded landing pad outside the Receiving Department of a vast underground complex on the asteroid Kelvax. In space, above the ship, the twin stars Ularus and Getis shone brilliantly - their combined red and yellow rays reflecting off the massive ship's polished hull. As the ship vented gases into the thin atmosphere of the orbiting rock, a giant spherical shield began to block out the stars as it moved to cover the landing pad. Red spinning lights strobed in time with a blaring alarm as the environmental shield closed over the ship and the precious cargo it held.<p>

After several minutes, the red lights turned to green, indicating the environment in the shielded landing area had been equalized with the rest of the complex. Two columns of heavily armed guards jogged out of the complex to surround the ship's access ramp in a semi-circle as it slowly began to descend. Facing out from the ramp, the guards activated their weapons and took defensive positions, awaiting the the transfer team to disembark and alert for any signs of trouble.

With a dull thud, the ramp settled to the landing pad and a detachment of twelve armored guards from the ship escorted a man in rich robes to the Receiving Area. The Kelvaxan guards parted to allow their honored guest to pass. Another contingent disembarked shortly after, this group even more heavily surrounded. Two guards in the second contingent carried between them a large black box.

The man in the expensive robes spoke briefly with a Kelvaxan official, who then waved the entire group and their cargo through the security portal leading into the depths of the complex.

The group passed through several more security checkpoints without incident as they approached the core of the asteroid and Central Control. Eventually, the heavily guarded group reached an ornate set of wooden doors at the end of a long narrow hallway. It was at this point that they were made to wait while a senior guard entered the doors to secure clearance for them.

After several minutes, the guard returned and indicated that only the man in the expensive robes, the cargo, and its two guards would be allowed through. The man nodded his understanding, and after a subtle hand gesture, the rest of the guards that had acted as escorts took up positions along the hallway, weapons at the ready.

The man stepped through the doors, followed by the guards and their cargo, and into an expansive room with vaulted ceilings. On the wall to their left hung the mounted and stuffed heads of hundreds of alien species, some wild and some civilized. Some represented species advanced enough to have breached the frontier of interstellar travel, while other represented species long extinct. On the opposite wall were shelves of books, from floor to ceiling, broken intermittently by computer consoles - presumably holding databases of writings no longer available in hard copy. Throughout the room, tables and glass cases held artifacts from thousands of cultures across the galaxy.

At the far end of the room, at an old wooden desk that looked more like a relic than anything functional, was seated a wrinkled old man in a tweed suit. The old man was bent over a large tome, a magnifying glass mounted over his right eye. As if not noticing the arrival of the group, he continued to peruse the page before him until the man in the expensive robes and his two guards stood before the desk.

Without looking up he spoke, "Ah, Lord Trelonde. I trust your journey was uneventful."

The man in the expensive robes snapped his heels together smartly and bowed his head. "We are grateful for the escort ships you sent to meet us at Feldett III, Curator Heens - though I doubt anyone but yourself would see the value in the artifact I've brought you."

"Quite," the Curator said, looking up at the other man. Smiling, he gestured to the tome in front of him. "Any idea what this is?"

Trelonde gazed briefly at the book and did not recognize the language it was written in. "I'm an avid collector of rare artifacts, Curator Heems, for certain, but I am not an expert on ancient texts such as this, however."

Heems rose from his seat and shut the book. "Five million years ago, Warlord Walthus Vex wiped out an eighth of the sentient species present in this galaxy at that time." Heems removed the larger lens from his eye and placed a pair of round spectacles on his nose. "A vicious tyrant, he took what he wanted, including mates. Sex and species didn't matter to him - his species was the Royn, who all have adaptive reproductive systems and can mate and create offspring with any living species. This book is a detailed record of every creature he coupled with in that conquest - and every creature that died birthing his Royn progeny."

Trelonde made a face of disgust.

"It's really quite interesting. The Royn are also empaths. He was able to experience what they felt while forcing himself on them and wrote it all down. This is the twenty-seventh volume of four thousand. The illustrations are very graphically detailed," Heems said with a smirk.

"Now about this piece you've brought me, Lord Trelonde," Heems said, moving around and approaching the black box. "Are you able to verify its authenticity?"

"It's authenticity is not what makes this piece worth collecting," Trelonde explained, a strange look on his face. "It may be an original - it may be a clever copy. That's not the point. I can guarantee you'll never see anything like it in your life."

"Cease the pitch," Heems said impatiently. "Show me the piece or leave this asteroid. I don't have time to ponder the possibilities and improbabilities of life."

"As you wish," Trelonde replied with a brief bow.

Heems ushered them over to a low table and relocated a few relics from its surface to other tables. Trelonde nodded to the guards and they carefully set the black box on to the empty surface. The guards each removed keychains from their persons and inserted their respective keys into locks on either side of the box. Lastly, Trelonde pulled a key from within his robes and inserted it into a larger locking mechanism on the front of the box. At Trelonde's signal, the three men turned their keys and the lid to the box popped open with a hiss. Briefly, visible clouds of gas billowed out and dissipated.

Trelonde opened the lid completely and stepped back for Heems to inspect the contents.

Curator Heems had donned a pair of latex gloves and reverently stepped forward to the box. The inside of the box was lit with soft glowlights and for a moment Heems simply stared at what lay inside, the light reflecting off his round spectacles. He then took a deep breath and reached into the box. Carefully, he removed the ancient device from its velvet cushion and held it at eye level.

The American-made 1986 Model Speak & Spell appeared to be in mint condition.

"Very nice," Heems said. "But there's still the question of its authenticity."

"I assure you, its authenticity won't matter once you see what it does."

Heems turned a skeptical eye to Trelonde. "It still works?"

"Turn it on and find out, Curator Heems."

Heems scoffed at the relic collector and pressed the button marked "ON".

Four musical tones sounded, indicating the device was active. After a pause, the device's screen glowed green as words appeared. A synthesized voice spoke the words as they printed.

"Good day to you, Curator Heems," it droned.

"What gimmick is this?" Heems demanded, narrowing his eyes at Trelonde. "I'm not a collector of cheap parlor tricks."

"This is no trick," the device said aloud. "You are being given a priceless gift."

Surprised, Heems regarded the ancient Earth toy in his hands. "For all intents and purposes, it appears authentic. The coloring is accurate. The speech synthesizer is very close to the original, but I suspect its been tampered with. Artificial intelligence module installed?"

Trelonde stood silently regarding the Curator - waiting.

Heems turned the toy over in his hands and examined it closer. "I won't give you full value unless I can verify its authenticity, and expect a deduction for the electronic tampering that's been done to it."

"As it said, it is a gift, Curator Heems," Trelonde said, his smile waxing cryptic.

"Hmph," Heems huffed. "I'm still going to open it up."

"You'll do no such thing," the Speak & Spell commanded.

Heems eyes seemed to glaze over and his mouth opened as if he were about to say something.

Then Heems spoke: "I'll do no such thing."

Trelonde's smile widened maniacally.

* * *

><p>The wheezy, grinding noise stopped and the TARDIS materialized with a thump.<p>

"Right," the Doctor said, moving to the doors. "Stay together, no touching each other, and more importantly no touching any of the pieces unless given explicit permission."

"What is this place, Doctor?" Amy asked.

"You are about to step into the oldest and most extensive museum in the universe - the Kelvaxan Reliquary. It is here that I intend to show you that your gizmos, your apps, and your social networking tools are just the detritus on the surface of the deeper technological potential of Earth. First, I'll introduce you to my old friend, Curator Heems. He should be able to get us into some of the more exclusive exhibits."

The Doctor grasped the door handle. "Maybe then you'll learn when and where to show proper respect to the wonders of the universe." He then added with a smirk, "Especially me."

The Doctor threw open the door and stepped out backwards, his arms open in welcome as he backpedaled out the TARDIS.

"My friends," he declared, "welcome to future history!"

The first things that Amy and Rory noticed as they stepped out after him were the thirty-seven laser rifles that were trained on them.

"Doctor," Rory said hesitantly.

"I know, its a bit much to take in at first, but your senses will soon level out."

With a flourish, the Doctor spun around with the intent to march purposefully forward into the vast museum. Instead, he marched purposefully into a laser rifle.

"Ah," the Doctor said. "Not the sort of respect I had in mind."


	3. 2 The Kelvaxan Reliquary

2. The Kelvaxan Reliquary

"Some lesson plan," Rory quipped from the uncomfortable metal bench in the holding cell the Doctor and his companions found themselves in.

"Yes, well," the Doctor stammered. "I suppose this is the Principal's Office."

The Doctor paced back and forth in front of the energy field across the entrance to their cell. Occasionally, he spared a glance at the heavily armed guards in the long hallway outside their cell.

"I don't understand it," he said to Amy and Rory. "Heems and I have an excellent relationship. I've supplied him with countless additions to his collection. Why would he leave us to stew here like this?"

"Maybe this friend of yours is no longer in charge," Amy offered.

"Perhaps," the Doctor said quietly, not convinced.

The Doctor continued his pacing and several moments passed without a word being said between the companions. Finally, Rory cleared his throat.

"So, this is like a space museum or something, right?"

"It's much more than that," the Doctor explained. Sighing to himself and apparently abandoning his solemn pacing, he sat down between Amy and Rory, causing them to have to move to either side to allow him room.

"This is a reminder of all the accomplishments of all the known species of the universe. Detailed histories, ancient relics, recreations of long-lost technologies. This is the ultimate museum. Mind you, there are several smaller collections throughout every galaxy and I've seen several of them, but nothing comes close to the range of history covered here."

"Is there anything from Earth?" Amy asked.

"Oh yes," the Doctor said with a smile. "For starters, there's the Promethean Hearthstone."

"What's that?" Rory questioned. "I've never heard of it."

"You wouldn't have," the Doctor explained. "It's supposedly the stone that the progenitors of your species first created their own fire on. Sad, really, how long its taken you to mature since then. If we ever get out of here, you two might become the first true humans to have ever laid eyes on it. It's from about eight hundred thousand years before either of you were born."

"You mean we're the first humans to come here?" Amy asked, surprised.

"I said you'd be the first _true_ humans to lay eyes on it. Once your species masters faster-than-light travel, several humans visit this place – though by that time, their DNA's a bit … muddled."

"Muddled?" Amy queried, raising an eyebrow.

"Long story."

The slamming of heavy doors echoed down the long corridor toward them, followed by the steady sound of footsteps approaching. The Doctor quickly stood up and his companions rose behind him, following his lead. Squinting through the gloom of the poorly lit corridor, the Doctor finally made out the form of the aged curator, flanked by two guards, walking towards them.

"Let me do the talking," the Doctor said over his shoulder.

"Curator Heems!" the Doctor said loudly. "Have I done something wrong? My companions and I are a bit ruffled, if you understand my meaning. What's all the fuss?"

Heems gestured to the guards and one flipped up the cover of a control panel housing the energy field controls. The guard keyed the unlock sequence and the field soon dissipated.

"Doctor," Heems said, his face reddening a bit with embarrassment. "I do sincerely apologize for the unfortunate delay. Had I known you were coming I'd have issued you security clearance that would have prevented all this."

With a genuine look of pleasure on his face, the curator grabbed the Doctor's hand and shook it vigorously. The Doctor's face softened and he too revealed his pleasure at seeing his old friend again.

"It's good to see you, Curator Heems. I trust you are well."

"Oh, you know, still an aging relic among relics," Heems joked. "Who do you have here with you?"

The Doctor turned, putting an arm around the old man's shoulders and gestured to his companions. "May I present my good friends, Amy and Rory of Earth, circa second millenium OCE."

"OCE?" Heems remarked, his eyes lighting up. "This is a very special visit indeed."

"Yes, well, they're not that special," the Doctor mocked.

"Any friend of the Doctor is an honored guest here," Heems declared, shaking each of the companions' hands in turn. "Now let's get out of this dank cell and we'll have refreshments in my office."

With another gesture to his guards, Heems dismissed them from their posts and they marched off down the corridor. Heems motioned for the Doctor and his companions to follow him and they began walking leisurely down the long corridor.

"Doctor," Rory whispered. "What's OCE?"

"Old Common Era," the Doctor whispered conspiratorially. "Though in this day and age its often abbreviation for a more derogatory and possibly more appropriate label."

"What's that?"

"The Oafish Common Era," the Doctor said with a smirk. "No more questions!"

The Doctor and his companions followed the curator down several long hallways before reaching the ornate doors of the curator's office.

"Is that real Valosian oak?" the Doctor asked, marveling at the rich wood.

"Good eye, Doctor," Heems verified. "The carvings are the work of Jeb Sabe Sob of Cheem, excommunicated artist."

"They're beautiful," Amy remarked. "Why was he excommunicated?"

"He was a tree of the Forest of Cheem," the Doctor explained. "His people considered his carving of wood grotesque and abominable. No more questions! You're here to learn, not ask questions."

Amy and Rory exchanged puzzled looks.

The group entered the Curator's office and followed Heems to his old desk where three ornate chairs and a small table had been erected for them. Refreshments of various types had been laid out on the table.

"Help yourselves," Heems waved absently. "If you desire anything else, don't hesitate to ask for it. We can probably get it."

Graciously, the companions took their seats and began to partake of the offered food and drink. The Doctor remained standing and walked around the curator's office for a few moments, perusing the private collection.

After Heems had situated himself behind his desk and sipped at his own drink, he turned his attention to the Doctor.

"How long has it been, Doctor?"

"Hard to say. What year is it?"

"I'm not sure myself," Heems chuckled.

"The Van Statten Collection," the Doctor surmised, snapping his fingers.

"Ah yes," Heems said, nodding in remembrance. "Not the most intriguing collection of artifacts, but significant nonetheless. Lots of visitors to it."

"Significant and difficult to get," the Doctor said. "If you remember I had a thousand tons of concrete to get through to secure it."

"And we greatly appreciate your efforts, Doctor." Heems turned to the companions. "Did you know that the Doctor is the second greatest single contributor to our collections here? On the tour, I'm sure he'll be able to point out all the artifacts he has secured for us."

"Second?" the Doctor asked with surprise, holding a large egg he had picked up from a display awkwardly.

"Yes, second, Doctor. You're not the only relic hunter we've had the fortune to work with. I'll have to arrange a meeting while you're here – he's expected anytime now."

The Doctor set the egg down carefully and made his way over to the wall of alien heads and began talking to himself as he looked at each in turn, saying things like "nice bloke" and "so that's what they look like under all the hair".

"What line of work are the two of you in?" Heems asked the companions.

"Uh," Amy hesitated, looking to the Doctor for help that wasn't coming. "We're students."

"This is sort of a, uh, field trip, thing," Rory offered.

"Excellent," Heems said with genuine delight. "I'm sure you'll both just love some of the exhibits we have here. Do you enjoy music?"

"Oh, we love it," Amy said.

"In our Arts Division we have the entire history of music on Earth on file, from ABBA to Zed Zed Nine."

"Do you have it in MP3?" Rory asked, hopefully.

"What is MP3?" Heems asked, confused.

The Doctor interrupted before Rory could answer. "What happened to the Thripitifalus Vex you had?"

Again, Heems seemed confused and caught off guard. "I've never heard of it, Doctor. Was it something you brought me? I do have the habit of being rather forgetful."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow and turned to regard the curator. His face was one of momentary concern, but he soon changed the subject. "I'm probably misremembering it, I suppose. So what was the story with all the security, by the way?"

The Doctor left the private collection and sat down heavily in the remaining empty chair.

"Ah yes," Heems said. "Again, I do apologize. Security was heightened at the time you arrived while a new piece was being delivered to me. We often increase security measures during certain high profile transfers and all traffic to the asteroid is prohibited during such transactions. Of course, the sudden unexpected and unsanctioned arrival of a vessel on the asteroid was quite the breach of that security."

"Yes, well, I do like to pop in from time to time unexpectedly," the Doctor joked.

"You're lucky you weren't shot on sight," Heems replied, a bit more serious than he had been since their arrival. "But its all sorted out now."

Amy and Rory shot meaningful glances at each other, realizing that once again the Doctor had managed to narrowly postpone the death of his companions.

The Doctor took a sip from his beverage and leaped up out of his chair again. "I'm sorry, Curator Heems. It just keeps bugging me. I'm absolutely positive you had a Thripitifalus Vex head on your wall last time I was here." Walking determinedly towards the data console set into the wall opposite the alien heads, he pulled up an antique chair to it, causing a loud shriek as he dragged it across the floor. "Do you mind if I check your logs for it? Maybe it was moved to a public exhibit."

His face ashen, Heems quickly rose from his desk. "Don't touch that console!"

With painful slowness, the Doctor swiveled his head to gaze directly at the old relic collector. His eyes narrowed with suspicion.

"We're installing a new system and are in the middle of transferring data. You could corrupt that data flow and we would lose eons of research in just one second," Heems explained. He seemed more than just a bit agitated.

"Hmm, yes," the Doctor said, moving away but still eyeing Heems. "Perhaps later then."

Curator Heems sat down again slowly, his brow furrowed as if he found his own outburst unusual.

"We definitely appreciate your hospitality, old friend," the Doctor said, walking leisurely back to the desk. "I think my friends and I are a bit full now, so we'd like to freshen up a bit before we begin the tour."

"Actually," Rory said, moving a cookie towards his mouth. "I thought I'd have a couple more -"

The Doctor slapped the cookie out of Rory's hand.

"The facilities aboard my ship are somewhat lacking. Do you have some place we might clean up a bit and relax?"

"Absolutely, Doctor," Heems said, rising from his desk. He pressed a series of buttons and the ornate doors opened again. "If you head down the hall, you'll come to an intersecting hallway. Take a right there and you'll come to our guest quarters we set aside for visiting dignitaries. The caretaker is named Dolla, she'll take care of you."

"Thank you, Curator Heems," the Doctor said with a bow. "We'll leave you now and hope to meet up with you later – perhaps for a personalized tour?"

"Just let Dolla know when you're ready and she'll page me," Heems replied. "I look forward to it."

"So do I," the Doctor said and turned to leave. "Come along, children."

Rory and Amy quickly rose from their seats and followed the Doctor. Rory suddenly turned back and trotted over to the table where he pocketed a few cookies. Heems smiled and nodded that it was acceptable.

"Rory!" the Doctor called from the door.

Rory jumped and knocked the plate of cookies to the ground. "Sorry."

"Leave it," Heems said, chuckling.

"I'm coming," Rory said, and caught up to Amy and the Doctor. The three companions left Heems' office and the doors closed behind them.

After a moment, Heems opened a small drawer in his desk. Inside was the Speak & Spell, glowing eerily.

"He is a Timelord," Heems began, and then related to the Speak & Spell everything he knew about the Doctor.

* * *

><p>The Doctor and his companions walked casually down the long corridor that led away from the curator's office, stopping occasionally to view the art mounted intermittently along the walls.<p>

"Alright," Amy said, having noticed the Doctor's mood change. "What's wrong, Doctor?"

"There's something definitely amiss here," the Doctor revealed, whipping out his sonic screwdriver. Activating it, he waved it about and looked with interest at the readings. "We should keep our eyes and ears open."

"Oh great," Rory sighed. "Even classtime is dangerous with you."

The Doctor didn't remark on the observation and led them to the intersection Heems had spoke of. "I'd like to take that tour now, but we should probably stick to our story. We'll pop in for a quick wash and stretch and then get into the thick of things."

Amy and Rory followed the Doctor as he led them right and towards the Guest Quarters. The architecture changed as they proceeded further down this new hall. The ceiling rose and the hallway finally gave way to a large vaulted lobby. It was readily apparently that they had entered the equivalent of a posh hotel, complete with sitting areas and a front desk.

As they approached the front desk, they couldn't help but notice an argument ensuing.

"I don't have a reservation, for the last time," a dusty looking man sat to the girl at the desk. The girl, a young blonde-haired petite type with impish features, seemed rather put out with him. "Do you know who I am?" he said impatiently.

The girl, seeing the three companions approaching, brightened up considerably and ignored the troublesome guest. "You must be the Doctor and his companions. Curator Heems called ahead and told us to expect you. I'm Dolla. Don't hesitate to call on me at anytime, should you need me. I'll be happy to serve you."

"Uh, we don't have reservations, per se," the Doctor apologized, with a significant look to the other guest who now stood agape at the rebuff.

"That's alright, Doctor. Curator Heems has told us to give you our finest suite for your stay. You'll find all the amenities you might need here. I'll show you to the suite."

As an aside she curtly said to the other guest, "Excuse me."

The man reddened visibly in the face and he slapped the gloves he was holding against the desk. A small cloud of dust rose from the impact.

"Now wait just a damned minute," the man barked. "Who the hell are you people?"

Sighing, Dolla turned an offered an quick introduction. "This is the Doctor and his companions."

"Amy," Amy said politely.

"Uh, Rory," Rory responded in like manner.

"The Doctor, Amy, and Uhrory," the man repeated. "Imperial dignitaries from the Kalthex Empire? Estimators from the Ixian Council of Artifact Reconciliation?"

"They are special guests of Curator Heems," Dolla explained. With reluctance, she reversed the introductions. "This is Drustan Light."

"Captain Drustan Light," the young grizzled-looking man corrected. He wore a long Earth-style duster over a utility vest and a dirty white long-sleeved shirt. His dark brown hair was short but messy and he was covered in a thick layer of grime in several places. His leather boots looked as if they had been hastily repaired a thousand times. His beard, though also trimmed close, was wild and shot with grey streaks.

"A pleasure, I'm sure," the Doctor replied, inclining his head slightly.

"Here to paw unappreciatively at the fine collection here, I'll wager," Captain Light said bitterly.

"Actually, I'm a relic collector. Heems and I go way back," the Doctor said snootily. Amy and Rory didn't miss the rising tension between the two men.

"Is that right?" Light said with a sneer.

"It is," the Doctor said, not backing down.

"Interesting."

"Indeed."

"Yeah."

"Mmm."

"Hmm."

"Ahh."

"Can we please wash up before we're irreversibly stained with testosterone?" Amy blurted with exasperation.

"We'll meet again Doctor," Captain Light said before walking away.

"I suppose we will at that," the Doctor replied. He quickly changed his demeanor and patted his companions on their shoulders. "Alright! Washing up time! Heave ho! Allons-y! Ha, haven't said that in a while. I shall have to do it again sometime."

Dolla led the three to their suite without further incident.

* * *

><p>After thirty minutes or so, the Doctor and his companions emerged from their room and made their way back to the front desk where they found Dolla smiling and waiting for them.<p>

"Curator Heems sends his regrets. He won't be able to take you on the tour himself, but he has authorized me to show you around," she explained.

"Is he ill?" the Doctor queried with concern.

"No," Dolla replied. "Nothing like that. Our good friend Captain Light has his attentions for the time being. Their discussions can get rather heated and lengthy."

Stepping out from behind the front desk, Dolla clicked a small device in her hand and a service robot rose up behind the desk in her place.

"Enjoy your stay at the Kelvaxan Reliquary!" it said to them as they left.

"I don't often get the chance to take such esteemed guests on a tour of the facilities," Dolla explained with enthusiasm. "Curator Heems usually has that honor."

"Has anything troubling happened here lately?" the Doctor probed. "Heems seems a bit preoccupied."

"Aside from that awful Drustan Light arriving? Not that I know of."

"What was the transfer that was taking place when we arrived? A new arrival for the museum?"

"We're not allowed to discuss it at this time," Dolla said quickly. "Confidentially, I've never seen the place so locked up during a transfer. Apparently, the extra security was requested by the collector. It's a wonder you weren't gunned down as you entered orbit."

Again, Amy and Rory exchanged concerned glances.

"Yes, well my ship offers special access privileges at times," the Doctor said with a smirk. "Did it have something to do with the new system being installed?"

"New system? I don't know anything about that," Dolla said, confused.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows meaningfully at his companions.

The quartet enter the main exhibition area and Dolla took her time going over the history of each piece as they viewed them. Her knowledge of the exhibitions was quite extensive and the Doctor offered personal insight where possible. Several times he revealed that he was the one who had brought a certain piece to the Reliquary. They had passed through several areas and hours had elapsed before the Doctor stopped the tour and asked Dolla a personal question.

"How do you know so much about this place? I thought you were just a hotel clerk."

"Oh that!" Dolla said, pleased that the Doctor was interested in her personally. Amy rolled her eyes. "I just work the front desk when things are slow here. I'm actually an archaeologist."

"Are you now?" the Doctor replied excitedly. "Where do you come from, Dolla?"

"Phi Gamma Six," Dolla responded proudly.

"An Earth colony," the Doctor said knowingly. Turning to Amy and Rory he mouthed the word "muddled".

"You've heard of it?"

"I've been there. Several times in fact. Lovely place. So, I guess that means you're a student of the Academy?"

"I graduated with the highest honors," Dolla said beaming.

This time Amy and Rory both rolled their eyes.

"I think its time we split up," the Doctor said. "I'll go with Dolla here and discuss some of the intricacies of universal history and you two can wander about as you please."

"What about that lesson you're supposed to be teaching us?" Rory asked.

"Hands on!" the Doctor said, hurriedly pushing them along. "Newest breakthrough in curriculum. Enjoy!"

And with that, the Doctor and Dolla left Amy and Rory to themselves.

"That man," Rory said, clenching his fist.

"Come on, love," Amy said to him. "Let's go have a bit of fun."

From down one of the many corridors they heard the Doctor's voice in a booming echo say, "Don't touch anything!"

* * *

><p>Most of the day slipped by before the Doctor and Dolla finally caught up with Amy and Rory. The two companions had found the Communications Wing and were testing out Earth technology that was only a few hundred years more advanced than their own time.<p>

"Doctor," Amy said excitedly. "Look at this!"

Amy and Rory were both wearing headsets with small reticles that fit over one eye. On their right hands, small adhesive microchips had been set on each finger and thumb.

"It's like having a iPad without the iPad!" Rory said in techno-ecstacy. "It's amazing! the screen looks like its just hovering in front of me."

"This has got to be an Apple product," Amy said with finality.

At the remark Dolla burst out laughing.

"What's she laughing at, Doctor?" Rory asked.

"Let's just say Apple was a blip on the screen. Significant but passing. And thus endeth the lesson, children. No matter how fantastic, how trendy, how amazing something seems to you, it will soon be obsolete. No need to buy the next great thing every year. Know your tech, choose your tech, customize your tech, and make it last. By the time its worn out, something better than the four hundred iterations that have passed in between will be there to buy. Rinse and repeat," the Doctor said sagely.

"That's actually an older model," Dolla said. "The last design was eventually integrated cybertech. The chips were implanted in your fingers and a special optical implant obsoleted the need for a reticle."

"No way!" Rory said. "Do you have any we could take back with us?"

"Absolutely not!" the Doctor chided. "You can't take future technologies back to Earth, you'll muck up the whole future history of the planet and possibly the galaxy."

"Oh come on, Doctor," Amy pleaded. "We'd keep it secret. No one would know."

"Besides," the Doctor continued. "There won't be a person that can implant it without killing you for another hundred years after your time."

At that moment, Curator Heems walked up to them, beside him was Captain Light.

"Doctor, I said I'd introduce you to the number one contributor to our little collection here. And this is that man. May I introduce Captain Drustan Light."

The two men stood glaring at each other, resuming the standoff from earlier in the day.

In unison they both said, "We've met."


	4. 3 Departures and Arrivals

3. Departures and Arrivals

After narrowly defusing a further confrontation with Captain Light, Amy and Rory showed the Doctor some of the exhibits that had interested them the most.

Most of the things they found fascinating were child's play to the Doctor. Where they expected him to agree that a self-perpetuating fruit tree was an amazing invention, he merely scoffed, "You wouldn't think that if you'd been present at the Mass Gluttony Disaster on Udabes VII."

While this perturbed the two companions greatly, their attentions soon turned from amazing technological achievements of the past to matters of the immediate present.

"So what did you find out, Doctor?" Rory asked conspiratorially.

"About what?" the Doctor replied, confused.

"About what's amiss in this place?" Amy cued.

"There's something amiss here?" he responded, looking at their surroundings curiously.

"Doctor!" she replied, giving him a good showing of her bottom teeth and a withering glare. "You've completely forgotten what we were supposed to be keeping our eyes out for. What exactly _have_ you been doing with that dusty tart of an archaeologist all day?"

"Oh that!" the Doctor said with a smile. "For your information, Dolla was an incredible help. Walk with me."

The trio moved away from the more trafficked exhibits and into an area where few visitors were loitering.

"Apparently, there was a big fuss over an item that arrived shortly before we did," the Doctor explained. "Our Captain Light is somehow involved, though I don't know how yet. He wasn't part of the group that delivered the piece, but seems to know an awful lot about it."

"Where you able to get into the computer system?" Rory asked.

"Ah. Now that's the interesting bit. Short answer, no. Long answer, no, but not because a new system is being installed," the Doctor replied. He paused a moment and scratched his head. "And there's the tricky bit. That means Heems lied to me. Why would he do that?"

"There's something in the system he doesn't want you to see?" Amy guessed.

"Perhaps, or maybe there _isn't_ something in the system that he doesn't want me to see," the Doctor said enigmatically.

"So," Rory said, "He wants you to see everything?"

"That's not what I meant," the Doctor said quickly.

"But that's what you said," Amy countered exasperatedly. "If there isn't something in the system that he-"

"Yes, yes, yes, nevermind," the Doctor said waving his hands in annoyance. "Listen to what I mean, not what I say."

Taking a deep breath, the Doctor continued. "What I mean is that I think there are things missing from the database that he doesn't want me to see. I've been here enough times to know a Thripitifalus Vex has been on Heems's wall since before he took over as Curator. Take into account that I've been in this museum at a point in time later than the one we find ourselves in now, and that I know for a fact that it was there then, we've suddenly got a nice little mystery on our hands."

The Doctor began to pace back and forth in front of the two companions.

"I'm even beginning to expect there's more than just a wildlife trophy missing here. Either there's a thief at work, or, and I hesitate to even travel down this line of thought, those pieces have ceased to exist."

"So, what do we do next?" Rory asked.

The Doctor abruptly stopped pacing and faced his companions.

"'We' do nothing. You two," he said, pointing at them both, "are going home."

"Ridiculous," Amy snapped. "You're taking us with you. You need us. You always need us."

"True, Amelia Pond," the Doctor replied warmly. "So many times I've needed you both in my travels, and this time is no different."

Amy and Rory smiled at each other, thinking they'd won.

"Right now, I_ need you _to go home. No buts!" he barked, turning away from them. "I'll come back and pick you up later, five days at the most."

"That usually means five years later," Rory quipped.

"Why won't you take us?" Amy asked, feigning a pout.

"This part of the adventure is a solo mission, comrades," he said gravely. "Three's a crowd. Now, just trust me."

"Oh great," Amy and Rory sighed in unison.

The trio made their way back to the TARDIS, saying their farewells to Dolla and Curator Heems along the way. The Doctor allowed Amy and Rory to choose one perishable memento to take with them, still vehemently protesting against them taking any sort of advanced technology back to their time, even if they did sell it in the gift shop. Rory chose a bugdrop, a small capsule that contained short-lived nanobots that would course through his body and repair any damage or malady he might be suffering internally. Amy chose a similar item that erased blemishes on the skin microscopically. Both items would run their course long before they reached Earth.

They reached the TARDIS in silence, ready to continue on with their adventures elsewhere. While the Doctor fiddled with his keys, Amy and Rory smiled and embraced each other. With a final glance at the vast and wondrous Kelvaxan Reliquary, the companions turned and ran into the Doctor who was still struggling with the TARDIS doors.

"It's jammed!" the Doctor grunted, heaving his shoulder against the door. "Now what could have possibly jammed the door?"

Rory cast a nervous look to Amy, who was already glaring back at him.

As the door opened a crack, there was a loud chorus of squeaks and bright pink and blue fur poked through the opening.

The acoustics in the space museum allowed sound to carry for long intervals. The Doctor's angry cry of "RORY!" lingered long after the TARDIS finally vanished from view.

In the yard of the small house Amy and Rory lived in when not traveling with the Timelord, a rather unpleasant odor began to grow in intensity. Birds fled from the shrubbery in swarms, the stray dog that often made his bed in an untended flower garden nearby fled the scene with a whimper, and even the rats that had burrowed under the foundation of the house vacated in terror as the stench spread.

A wheezy, grinding noise broke through the sound of the flapping wings and scurrying feet, and a blue box materialized. As soon as the box fully appeared with a thump, the door opened and three people wearing gas masks fell over each other trying to get out.

"Get clear!" said one of the people, his voice muffled through the mask. "I'll set the remote timer."

Pulling a small handheld device from its pockets, the gas-masked individual pointed it at the blue box. The device issued a shrill squeal and the door to the box shut. There was a brief flash of energy around the box and tendrils of smoke began to drift up from the box's top.

"Wait for it! Five more seconds!" the person shouted to the others.

After the time had elapsed, all three of the humans removed their masks and gasped for air.

"Oh my god!" Rory panted. "That was awful. Even through the mask."

"Why didn't you do that before we left the Reliquary?" Amy questioned the Doctor.

"To teach you a lesson," the Doctor said, waving a handkerchief in front of his face.

"I've had about enough of your lessons, professor," Rory jabbed.

"Yes, well," the Doctor stammered. "I admit I didn't find it pleasant either. I mean, what was I thinking?"

"How did the gunbunnies get back into the TARDIS?" Amy asked.

"I have a few stasis pods aboard. I assume a couple got stowed away inside and initiated a brief stasis period which probably ended while we were away. Regardless, its still -"

"My fault," Rory admitted. "Yes, I know. I said I was sorry."

The three time travelers took a few moments to catch their breath, before the Doctor clapped his hands and signaled he was ready to depart.

"Don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone," he told his companions. "Five days, tops."

"Yeah, we'll see," Rory muttered and turned to go inside the house.

"Doctor," Amy said before following Rory.

The Doctor spun around with a smile.

"Take care of yourself," she said.

"I wouldn't risk the wrath of Pond by doing anything but that," he replied and skipped off to his TARDIS.

As the door to the amazing blue box slammed shut, the droning sound of the time machine's departure began. As quickly as it had appeared, it vanished. Amy and Rory went into their house and tried to settle back into their home away from what they considered their real home, the TARDIS.

In the yard of their house, the stray dog returned to sniff the area where the TARDIS had been and sneezed violently.

On the dark side of one of the seven moons orbiting around the planet Fallox, a seemingly derelict ship hung in space. The only clue an observer would have that might indicate there was someone aboard the vessel, was the small flame from a lit candle sitting on the ships controls.

Huddling close to the candle was Captain Drustan Light, who was using the dim light to view a crudely drawn map of the position of defensive satellites around the planet. As he peered at the map and tried to plot a course that would lead him safely through the security net, his ship's onboard computer switched back on.

"Recharge sequence complete, Captain," the computer spoke with a sultry, feminine voice.

"Switch us back on, Penelope," Light responded. "I'm tired of squinting at this map by candlelight."

"It's bad for your eyes, Captain," the computer chided. All over the ship, consoles switched on, glowing in reds, greens, and yellows.

Captain Light blinked his eyes in the sudden brightness. "Any luck reducing the recharge time? I wasn't paying attention."

"The Timedrive technology is still sapping our core systems beyond standard limits. I reduced the recharge time to compensate by .3 nanoseconds."

"I guess every little bit helps," Light sighed. "I just really don't like being a sitting duck every time we jump. Suppose someone was able to follow us."

"It is possible that we could find ourselves between a solid aggregate of minerals and an area of matter with strong intermolecular bonds in that situation," the computer offered.

"A rock and a hard place, you mean," Captain Light corrected with a smile.

"Is that not synonymous to the situation I described?"

"It is," Light laughed. "It's all about the delivery though, Penelope."

"I am unaware of any further deliveries we are scheduled to make, Captain."

"Nevermind that. Fire thrusters and take us in slowly," the ship's captain commanded.

The old Razor-class light freighter shook violently as the main thrusters fired. Light had commandeered the ship from a privateer operating near the galactic core of the Milky Way galaxy. The Timedrive had been a later addition, provided to Captain Light by his best repeat employer, an organization calling itself Ulysses. The ships hull was peppered with scorch marks from numerous skirmishes, and very little of the ship contained its original parts. Between Captain Light's extensive upgrades and continuous need to replace faulty and obsolete components, the ship was an interstellar mutt.

"Have you plotted a safe course through the security net?" the computer inquired.

"I think so. Seventy-five by three point zero, sixteen degrees and hold steady."

The ship shot around the orbiting moon and sped along a course towards the planet.

"Get me a reading on that sector," Light ordered.

"I show a hole in their defenses in that sector. The ship will pass through unscathed," the computer replied.

"Full thrust. Let's just hope we get through before a patrol shows up."

The ship shuddered violently as it increased speed. Quickly, the planet grew to fill the front window of the cockpit.

"Captain, there is an unusual energy reading coming from the aft section of the ship."

"Check it out, Penelope," the captain barked. "Not a good time for surprises."

"Scanning," the computer replied.

The ship was only a few hundred miles from the security net and gaining speed. Captain Light switched to manual operation and took control of the ship.

"What's the verdict?" Captain Light asked.

The computer did not respond.

"Penelope?"

Instead of the computer's female voice, a dry, mockingly British voice spoke from behind the Captain, "Power down the entire ship, immediately."

Spinning around in his captain's chair and drawing his blaster in one motion, Captain Light was shocked to find the Doctor standing holding his sonic screwdriver.

"You!" Captain Light shouted in fury.

"Shut it down if you want to live, Captain Light," the Doctor warned.

"You're threatening me with a sonic screwdriver?" the captain laughed incredulously. "What have you done with Penelope?"

"She's sleeping," the Doctor said impatiently. "Now shut this ship down or I'll do it for you."

"I'd like to see you try," the Captain retorted. "I've got more security measures on this cockpit than -"

Before Captain Light could finish, the Doctor activated his sonic screwdriver, and one by one all the ships controls shut down and went dark.

The ship lurched violently as the thrusters powered down instantly, causing the ship to spin.

"Right," Light sneered. "I'll kill you for that."

"Shut up and don't breathe," the Doctor ordered, seemingly unconcerned by the captain's threat.

The Captain prepared a retort, but it caught in his throat as he caught a glimpse of thousands of microsatellites outside the ship. The entire hole in the security net was blanketed with the devices. His scanners hadn't been able to detect them.

Barely whispering, the Doctor explained. "They use this sector for returning empty cargo containers. It saves them money by not requiring every container to be fitted with the proper security protocol modules to pass through the net. These little buggers detect electronic activity and certain heat signatures that would indicate a ship is trying to pass through. If they detect something, they vaporize it."

"What about the -"

"Shh!"

Quieter, much quieter than the Doctor had whispered, Captain Light tried again. "What about the -"

"Shh!" the Doctor repeated.

"What about the residual heat from the thrusters?" the Doctor asked for him. "The cargo containers have to be able to be oriented into a position to pass through the sector. They have their own thrusters, and are controlled remotely. The thrusters shut off before they pass through. Only something the size of your thrusters would have enough residual heat to trigger them."

"The size of my -"

"Shh!"

"The size of your thrusters don't matter anymore," the Doctor continued. "I took the liberty of detaching the thrusters at the same time I shut them off."

"You what?"

"Shh!"

Captain Light seethed with fury as the ship passed silently through the sea of microsatellites.

"How the hell am I supposed to land this ship once we pass through?" the Captain whispered harshly.

"Don't ask me," the Doctor said innocently. "You're the pilot."

"So you've killed us anyway," the Captain snapped. "Wonderful."

"I gave us a chance."

"Wouldn't they think of the possibility of a ship passing through like this and then powering up once its passed?" the Captain queried, looking desperately for a way out of the situation.

"Yes," the Doctor said matter-of-factly. "That's why the microsatellites extend down almost to the surface, much too low for a ship to pull off any sort of fancy maneuver and save themselves."

"Where do they terminate?" the Captain asked desperately.

"Oh, about five miles above the surface of the planet."

"You're mad," the Captain said incredulously.

"Well, I am a bit miffed, but that's mostly because there's a lingering stench in my ship."

Captain Light turned abruptly away from the Doctor, and watched the planet speed towards them.

"That was quite clever of you, picking the lock to my ship and dumping a pair of gunbunnies in while I was touring the Reliquary," the Doctor said icily. "Now I'll have to apologize to my companion, and I really, really don't like doing that. Especially when its Rory."

The Captain couldn't prevent himself from smirking.

"So, it comes down to this, Mr. Smartypants," the Doctor continued. "You tell me what's been happening at the Reliquary that's caused entire species of lifeforms and eras of history to disappear from time, and I'll save you and your ship."

"How?"

"Nevermind that. Just tell me how you're involved."

The Captain took a deep breathe, considering the ship's speed and approximate distance from the planet.

"Honestly, I thought you were involved," the Captain confessed. "I, too, was investigating when you showed up. I thought I'd follow you when I realized you've got yourself a TARDIS."

"The relic delivered to Heems before I arrived. What was it?" the Doctor pressed.

"A paradox key," the Captain said. "I'll tell you what it is when we land safely."

"Fair enough," the Doctor said. Nonchalantly, he turned from the cockpit and walked back to his TARDIS.

"Hurry Doctor!" the Captain yelled back at him.

"Oi!" the Doctor snapped. "Don't rush me."

The ship continued to spin in its descent, the microsatellites parting before it like water until gradually the cloud of them began to thin, then disappeared completely.

"We're through!" the Captain yelled back. "I hope you've got a plan!"

Suddenly, the entire ship lurched and froze in mid-air. It floated there briefly before gently lowering down through the clouds toward the surface. After a few moments, the ship set down on solid ground.

Rising from his chair, but not putting away his blaster, Captain Light stalked back to the cargo hold. There stood the Doctor leaning against the TARDIS with a smirk on his face.

"So, Captain Light," he said, "what exactly is a paradox key?"

"I really don't like you, Doctor," the Captain growled.

"Perfect!" the Doctor replied. "I don't like you either."

"A paradox key is a device engineered to manipulate events towards the perpetuation of a paradox. In the case of the object delivered to the Kelvaxan Reliquary, it was a Speak & Spell," the Captain explained.

"Interesting," the Doctor replied.

"This particular one has been compromised and altered. I was on my way to secure it, but Trelonde beat me to it. He's the one that delivered it to Heems."

"Why do you have an interest in this?" the Doctor asked calmly.

"I was hired to secure it and return it to its makers," Captain Light said, holstering his weapon. "And before you ask, I don't know who they are. They call themselves Ulysses."

"Again, very interesting. So that then leads us to the present," the Doctor mused. "What exactly are you doing breaking into a planet?"

"The same thing you're doing. I'm looking for answers. Some time ago I delivered an artifact to Heems that has since disappeared from his collection. He says he has no knowledge of the item's existence. This disturbs me. It was a very difficult piece to collect."

"To steal you mean."

Captain Light ignored the accusation and continued. "I recovered it from ruins on this planet, but I left three other pieces here. I want to see if they still exist."

"Why wouldn't they?" the Doctor asked curiously.

"Just a suspicion. For starters, Fallox is a primitive planet. I've been here dozens of times and never once has there been a security net around it."

"Fallox has always had the grid," the Doctor stated flatly. "I did my research. They've been spacefarers for centuries."

"Ah, but you've never been here, Doctor. The memory is likely resident in my mind only. Just like your Thripitifalus Vex. Time does strange things to the minds of those who travel through its cracks. Sometimes you can change history, but you can't erase it from the minds of those who have experienced it."

"I'm coming with you," the Doctor decided, pushing himself off the blue box.

"I work alone," Captain Light countered.

"We have the same questions. We tread the same path towards to same goal. I'm not baggage, I'm not a liability."

"I'm not convinced."

"I also have Penelope," the Doctor revealed, holding up a small crystal cube.

The Captain looked momentarily concerned, but then returned to his usual bluster. "One of these days, Doctor, we'll come to blows."

"Such a violent man," the Doctor quipped sarcastically.

"Fine, follow close and do as I say," Captain Light barked. Quickly, he picked up a pack from a locker in the cargo area and began to fill it with supplies.

"One more question, Captain," the Doctor said carefully. "Have you ever heard of the Temporal Defense Initiative?"

Captain Light laughed aloud, and grinned at the Doctor, "Of course. I'm one of them."


	5. 4 Vexes and Vexation

4. Vexes and Vexation

"Never heard of such a thing," Captain Light replied gruffly. "And besides, the TDI spans universes, there are bound to be plenty of things they're into that I've no business knowing."

"I would think the ability to create miniature universes from scratch would be difficult to conceal. That's a lot of energy to hide," the Doctor pressed, still not convinced.

"Look," the Captain said with a sigh. "If I knew anything about that, I'd tell you."

"Fine," the Doctor relented. "Is it absolutely necessary to bring that weapon?"

Together they stood pressed against the starboard door of what was left of Captain Light's ship, preparing to exit the vehicle into what would likely be hostile territory.

"We've just barely managed to survive a massive cloud of microsatellites that could have vaporized us, surrounding a planet that is supposed to be primitive. I'll take my chances offending the locals, whoever they may be now."

Captain Light took a quick breath and then made to burst through the door to the outside. The Doctor stopped him abruptly, grabbing his arm and pulling him back.

"Now wait a minute," the Doctor said thoughtfully. "Consider what we're likely getting into. For us to have made it through that microsatellite field, we've probably been identified as an empty container. They'll send someone out to recover it, and they'll likely be robots of a sort. I recommend we exit the ship, quickly find a place to hide and see what we can learn. Perhaps we can follow the robots back to a base or something."

Captain Light crossed him arms and looked at the Doctor disdainfully. "How the hell do you survive out here with planning like that? You call yourself a time traveler? You know, I bet you're the very type of absent-minded and oblivious fool who'd recommend we immediately split up and get ourselves lost, or captured or worse. Thank God you don't travel with companions."

"Uh, well, yes. What would _you_ do then?" The Doctor bit his lip nervously, remembering more than a few occasions where just such absent-mindedness and obliviousness had landed both he and his companions in trouble. Repeatedly, in fact.

"They probably tracked us coming into the atmosphere and supposed we were destroyed when you ditched our thrusters. They probably think we're debris. They'll send scavengers, most likely with orders to kill anything still alive on the ship," the Captain said with certainty. "So, we step out prepared for a fire fight."

"Well, let me go out first," the Doctor suggested. "If they are just friendly robots, I won't blow their heads off before they have a chance to say hello."

"I'm going out first," Captain Light countered. "So if they are scavengers, they won't blow _our_ heads off before we have a chance to say hello."

The tension grew in the tight quarters, and the Doctor visibly gulped and adjusted his bowtie. "How about we open the door and peek out together?"

"Alright then," the Captain agreed.

Carefully, both men stepped to either side of the door. The Doctor drew his sonic screwdriver, while Captain Light powered up his blaster.

"Ready?" Captain Light hissed. The Doctor nodded.

With a creak, the Captain opened the door and slowly both men peeked outside.

A small girl in animal hides stood looking up at them just outside the ship. Beyond her, thick forest surrounded them. The sky was dark, and only the light of Fallox's single moon illuminated the scene.

"Oh hello," the Doctor chimed in a friendly voice.

"Get your hands up!" Captain Light barked at the girl, leveling his blaster at her.

"Will you stop that!" the Doctor exclaimed, grabbing the Captain's blaster. Fighting back, Captain Light tried to pull away, but the Doctor stubbornly held onto the weapon. "She's a little girl for goodness sake! A primitive!"

The struggle turned more violent as both men lost their balance and fell in a tangle. For a minute or so, both men struggled to gain control of the weapon and gain the upper hand, but soon the blaster and sonic screwdriver were cast aside as the bout descended into a wrestling match.

Distracted, the two time travelers did not notice the little girl walk over and pick up the blaster. Casually, she aimed the blaster and fired.

A foot from both men's heads, the ground erupted in a controlled explosion, showering them with dirt and hot rock. The scuffle stopped immediately and both men stared aghast at the girl.

"Are you two finished?" she said to them.

"Yes," they both replied sheepishly.

"Get up," the girl demanded, waving the blaster menacingly. "Hands in the air."

"Now wait a minute–" the Doctor began. He was cut short as the girl fired the blaster again, this time close enough to singe Captain Light's duster.

"Hey!" the Captain cried out.

"Shut your mouths, scum!" the girl barked at them. "Empty your pockets!"

"Please listen–" the Doctor began again.

"Do it or I fry you!" the girl yelled.

Quickly, the Doctor began tossing out the contents of his pockets. Likewise, Captain Light was desperately digging out lint and cracker bits from the deepest confines of his clothes.

In a few moments, the pile was quite impressive, containing but not limited to two yo-yos, a shrunken head, several dice, three bags containing what appeared to be jelly babies, a golden Venus idol, half an Oreo, various components to scientific equipment, some jacks, no less than twelve rubber balls of different size, assorted galactic coinage, and a very agitated fire newt in a plastic water bottle.

The girl looked disappointed, but sifted through the debris, keeping the blaster leveled at the two shocked men.

"Robbed by a little girl," the Doctor muttered. "Didn't see this one coming."

"She's a primitive," the Captain replied in a whisper. "How does she even know how a blaster works?"

"Shut it!" the girl barked. With an exasperated sigh, the girl took the sonic screwdriver and placed it in a pouch at her hip. To both travelers' dismay, she also took the small cube containing Penelope.

Admiring it, but still focusing the blaster at them, she commanded, "Lay down, hands on your heads. Try anything funny and I vape the lot of you."

The men complied quickly. The little girl stepped over to them and crouched down, holding the cube before the Doctor's face.

"What's this?"

The Doctor hesitated.

Pressing the blaster against his head, she asked again. "What is this?"

"Nothing," the Doctor lied. "Just a bit of junk I carry."

The girl shrugged and tossed it to the ground. "No use? Then I guess I'll vaporize it." She stood and aimed her blaster at it.

"No, please!" the Captain cried out.

The girl smiled and retrieved the cube, before turning to crouch down beside Captain Light. "What is it?"

The Captain sighed. "It's the AI for my ship. She's … It's important to me."

With lightning quick movements, the girl removed cord from her pouch and began to tie up the Captain.

"Look, miss," the Doctor pleaded. "We've come here for some information. We mean you no harm. This is Captain Light and I'm the Doctor. We'd pay you for your time, we just want to ask a few questions."

Having finished binding the Captain, the girl walked over to the Doctor.

"You came down in that?" she asked, gesturing to the ship.

The Doctor nodded.

"Through the shield?"

The Doctor nodded again.

The girl laughed at him, and then began to bind him as she had Captain Light.

"What's so funny?" the Doctor asked. Captain Light was confused as well.

The girl did not answer. Instead, she continued laughing as she finished binding the Doctor.

"Listen, maybe we can work something out," the Captain offered.

"Tell it to the Vex," the girl laughed and walked away.

"I say, did you say 'Vex'"? the Doctor asked nervously.

His answer was an inhuman roar that echoed through the forest that surrounded them.

"Well, that's _very_ interesting, now isn't it?" the Doctor mused.

"What? The girl? Being robbed? Being bound and left for some beast to come chew us to bits?" Captain Light queried. "What could possibly be interesting at a time like this?"

"Well, just so you know," the Doctor replied, "If that _is_ a Thripitifalus Vex headed this way, then it certainly _won't_ be chewing us to bits."

"Well, thank goodness," the Captain sighed. Relieved, he began to struggle against his bindings and managed to get himself on his knees.

"Yes, Vexes don't have teeth, and they get very cross about that. They happen to love flesh, but only have a proboscis with which to ingest, so they tend to rip their prey apart and stomp on it until its a sort of goo they can suck up," the Doctor explained quite matter-of-factly.

The Captain was up and running, having loosened his feet.

"Hey!" yelled the Doctor, squirming on his side. "A little help here!"

The Captain stopped and turned around, his face flushed with frustration. Kneeling, he quickly unbound the Doctor as much as he could, freeing his legs but not his hands. Both men jumped up to their feet and began to run.

Behind them, crashing through trees and the remains of Captain Light's ship, the Thripitifalus Vex broke into the clearing and gave chase. The creature resembled some of the rhino-like brontotheriums from Earth's Eocene, sporting wicked horny protrusions around a face that terminated in a long snout. Two openings on either side of the creatures neck blew open and the inhuman roar vibrated from them.

"Oh, now that's very interesting!" the Doctor puffed, now at full sprint.

"What's so bloody interesting about it?" the Captain screamed at his shoulder as they ran.

The two men hurdled low shrubbery as they entered thick forest that surrounded their crash site. Behind them, the Thripitifalus Vex trundled, roaring through it's sounding flaps.

"Most of the specimens I've seen have just been trophies, cut off well above those flaps," the Doctor gasped, leaping over underbrush and ducking under vines. "Most scientists believe those flaps are somehow used in underwater breathing."

"And?!"

"Obviously, that's how they communicate!" the Doctor said cheerfully. "Interesting, no? I'll have to mention this to Curator Heems!"

The Vex was closing in on them; massive trees began to fall around the time travelers as the massive beast crashed its way through the forest.

The Doctor, caught up in a sweeping branch, was tossed roughly to the side as the creature barreled past. Captain Light was not so lucky. With the Captain in focus, the Thripitifalus Vex jerked its head upward, its horns catching the Captain's duster, and threw the man straight up into the air. Completely out of control, Captain Light flailed madly before coming down heavily on the trunk of a fallen tree.

The Vex had not lost its prey, and nimbly spun on its four legs. Focusing on its target again, it charged, head down.

"No!" the Doctor cried out, extricating himself from the tangle of branches. Struggling greatly, the Doctor began to see its futility as the beast closed the distance in only a handful of gallops.

And then, suddenly, the creature reared up, teetered on its back legs, and fell heavily on its back. Confused, the Doctor ran to the Captain, but noticed as he did so that there were other humanoids coming out from the trees. He ignored them, and made straight for his wounded companion who had propped himself against the fallen tree trunk he had landed on.

Captain Light's face had deep gashes in it, and it appeared his right arm was broken, but he was breathing.

"Are you alright?" the Doctor asked, assessing the damage.

The Captain moved slightly, then winced, before answering, "I'm fine."

"You need medical attention," the Doctor concluded after a quick check of vitals. "The title's merely honorary, but I've done some free study in medicine. Your arms broken, you need some stitches, but I bet you're the type that likes scars."

The Captain grunted a laugh, but then his face turned to stone as his eyes fell on something behind the Doctor.

"We've got company," he said to the Doctor.

Looking over his shoulder, the Doctor saw several men in hides approaching. Most of them carried what appeared to be spears, but one was carrying a plasma rifle. "Hang tight, let me talk to them," the Doctor said, patting the Captain's shoulder. The Captain gasped in pain at the touch.

Standing, the Doctor brushed off his jacket and straightened his tie. With a flourish, he turned and faced the men approaching.

"Hello! I'm the Doctor!" he said to them, his smile beaming.

With a cursory glance behind the men, the Doctor noticed that the Vex was down and being bound by several other men. _Hunters? _ he thought to himself.

"I must say, we certainly _are_ lucky to have run into you," he continued. "We seem to have run afoul of the local fauna, it seems. Without you we might be a pile of goo by now. Excellent show there."

The man with the plasma rifle raised a hand to the men flanking him, and they stopped their advance. Continuing forward to stand before the Doctor, the man leveled the rifle at him. "Are you with her?" he barked.

"I'm sorry, I don't–"

"Do you serve her or not, fiend?! Show me your hands!" the man demanded, raising the rifle level with the Doctor's head.

The Doctor raised his hands above him. The man with the rifle, stomped over and roughly grabbed the Doctor's arm and looked at the Doctor's right hand specifically, turning it over to look at both sides. Keeping the gun leveled at the Doctor, the man inspected the Captain's right hand as well.

"I don't know who _she _is, but we serve ourselves. Like I said, I am the Doctor, and my friend over there is Captain Light. We need medical attention, as you can plainly see. So, why don't you lower that dreadful weapon, and help us. We're obviously already overpowered by you, and we've no intention to run."

The man, apparently the leader, seemed to think this over. He lowered his gun and made hand motions to the others, who quickly broke line and trotted back to help the others with the Vex. "How did you come to be here?"

"Yes, well, we met a little girl when we landed. She took something of value from us, tied us up, and left us for that Vex," the Doctor explained.

"Then you've lied to me," the leader said. "Though you probably don't realize it. You two are lucky. You _have_ met her, but you had something she wanted more than your service. Few men see her and live."

"That little girl?" the Captain chimed in. "She knew her way around a blaster, but surely she's no real threat to men like yourselves."

The leader smirked, but remarked no further on the subject. Looking at each of the two men in turn, he shouldered his rifle and held out his hand to the Doctor. "My name is Jaron, and I am tribe leader of the Kinzix."

The Doctor happily shook Jaron's hand as best he could, still being bound.

Seeing the difficulty, Jaron removed a knife from his belt and freed the Doctor before likewise cutting Captain Light's bindings.

"If you can keep up, you can follow us back to the village. We can treat your friend there, but we must hurry. There are more Vexes about."

Helping his companion to his feet, the Doctor nodded. "Lead on then, we'll follow."

The Captain and the Doctor followed Jaron as he made his way over to the fallen Vex. The great beast's chest heaved as it slumbered.

"The ropes we use to trap them have barbs that inject a sleep poison. As long as he's bound, we can handle him easily," Jaron explained.

"What will you do with it?" the Doctor asked, curious.

"There are more men coming here from the village. They'll construct a cart to move it, and then they will attempt to transport it close to her kingdom's borders, where they'll set it free to wreak havoc on _her _lands."

The Doctor had moved around to look at the creature's head, and more specifically the sounding flaps on its neck.

"Why are you so obsessed with this thing?" the Captain asked, gingerly stepping up beside the Doctor.

The Doctor smiled, and turned to the Captain. In a whisper, he said, "Because I think this is the very same Thripitifalus Vex that was missing from Heem's collection."

"How can you tell?"

"This marking between the eyes," the Doctor explained. "I've only seen a few specimens, but only one has had this exact marking. Could just be a coincidence though."

Turning his attention away from the Vex, the Doctor made his way over to Jaron who was giving instructions to some of his men.

"Just out of curiosity, Jaron, what was all that about my right hand?" the Doctor queried.

Several of the men nearby gasped, all looking at the Doctor's right hand in terror.

"It's fine!" the Doctor said, waving it at them. They seemed to relax and went on about their business.

Grimly, Jaron leaned in to speak to the Doctor where his men could not hear him. Captain Light had made his way over and listened in.

"The girl has magic powers," Jaron explained. "She gives men a sickness. Their right hands turn red, and they go mad, killing innocent people. That is how we know someone has been turned by her. That is why we checked your hands."

"How do the people with the sickness kill others?" Captain Light asked.

"That's a bit morbid, isn't it?" the Doctor replied, turning up his nose.

The Captain shushed him, then pressed for an answer. "Do they use a weapon, or are the victims burned?"

Jaron's eyes went wide. "You know more than you say."

The Doctor turned to his companion. "What do you know?"

"I've seen this," Captain Light replied. "Red right hand. And the deaths, they are from the hand. It's like an energy blast, massive power." He took a deep breath, before concluding with, "This just keeps getting worse."

"He speaks truth. I've seen the blast," Jaron confirmed.

The Doctor was smiling. "I think we're onto something now."


	6. 5 Time Lord, Time Bandit

5. Time Lord, Time Bandit

The village of the Kinzix tribe was a far hike from where the Captain's ship had come down, and the forest grew thicker around them before they began to see signs of habitation. Sparse game trails they followed soon turned to well-worn paths with ruts from carts, but even then the paths were well concealed. You could be standing parallel to a fairly wide path on your own game trail and the thick trees could completely block it from your sight.

Jaron led the column of hunters, with the Doctor and Captain Light bringing up the rear. The pain from his wounds troubled Captain Light to the point that Jaron had given him a wad of mashed fruit to chew. After initially refusing the aid, the Captain finally relented and chewed the thick pasty fruit in displeasure. Only seconds passed before he remarked that the pain had gone away.

"Clever tribe this," the Doctor said as they continued down the trail. "Are these the sort of primitives you were used to dealing with on this planet?"

"Somewhat," the Captain replied. "I only had the opportunity to view them from a distance. I try not to interfere with lesser cultures in my travels.

"You mean you try not to get caught thieving relics from them," the Doctor teased.

Captain Light smiled. "That too."

They walked on in silence for several moments before the Captain continued on along the path of inquiry the Doctor had started down.

"There were no plasma rifles when I was here last. No microsatellite barrier. The primitives I encountered were dying, and there really was nothing I could do for them."

"What do you mean there's nothing you could do for them?" the Doctor replied. "You mean you didn't want to help them."

"No, Doctor," the Captain retorted. "I keep to the TDI rules so I get paid. When you deal in paradoxes, you go out of your way not to alter history."

"Don't talk to me about changing history," the Doctor snapped, turning to face him. Both men stopped, staring each other down. "I am a Time Lord. My race has spent most of its existence making sure people like you _don't_ muck up the universe with your interference. It's amateurs like the TDI that endanger life as we know it with their oblivious meddling. We're the protectors."

The Captain stabbed a finger at the Doctor. "Oh, I've heard all about your dead race, Doctor. And where are they now? What are they protecting beyond the void? It's just you left, and what can _you_ do against anything with that junkheap of a TARDIS?

"If they were still here, you wouldn't be," the Doctor countered. "And don't you dare talk about her that way again or I'll …"

"You'll what, Doctor?" Light barked, getting in the Doctor's face. "Punch me? Wave a sonic screwdriver at me? Abandon me like you do all your companions?"

The Doctor's face darkened and his eyes narrowed. "You don't know anything about me."

"It's my organization's business to know about people like you, Doctor. The Time Lords are gone, and someone has to step up and do what Gallifrey and its pompous people never did."

"Hey!" yelled a voice. It was Jaron. The rest of the hunters were out of sight. "You two shut your mouths and keep up. We're skirting close to her territory now."

The two time travelers stared at each other a moment longer before turning away and continuing on.

The trail broke through the tree ended at ledge leading around a sharp promontory. They followed Jaron along this path for a good ways, eventually breaking above the trees. The view as the trail topped out before winding back down into the forest was breathtaking.

Lights glittered in the distance, some moving low across the horizon, flitting back and forth from a central location where the forest had been cleared for miles. From the center of this massive clearing of forest an impressive ziggurat rose, sparkling with light.

"That is the heart of her kingdom," Jaron explained. "We call it the Kingdom of the Red Hand. And that structure is her palace."

"Those are the ruins I told you about," the Captain remarked.

"Well, they don't look like ruins now, do they?" the Doctor countered. "Those lights we see moving about?"

"Those are chariots. She has given her people magic and powers beyond what we are able to create. Though we've stolen some of their weapons in raids, we have no idea how they work and cannot replicate them," Jaron replied.

"Interesting," the Doctor mused.

"We must move on," Jaron said, ushering them away from the open area. "If you have more questions, Tobun can answer them. He is the oldest of us that remembers a time before she came. He remembers all that has passed.

"Then lead on, Jaron," the Captain said, gesturing to the trail.

The three men walked in silence as they continued through the forest. When the tress occasionally broke along the winding trail, the Doctor could make out the faint light of the lanterns the rest of the hunters carried ahead of them. Gradually, either the hunters slowed, or their own pace quickened, for soon the three men caught up to the rest of the hunters.

Eventually, the trees grew more spread out, and the trail widened until visible torchlight could be seen ahead of them. A primitive village of huts and treehouses stood in a wide glade, the middle of which was occupied by a large common house, decked out with the bones and horns of animals.

The Doctor recognized the bones of several vexes among them.

"I will take you to Tobun first," Jaron explained, leading them towards the large common house.

As they walked, they noticed several villagers peeking out from the hide flaps of the huts. It was well into the night, but the village seemed to be fairly busy. Most villagers they came upon moved quickly to concealment, and more than one stared directly at both the Doctor's and Captain Light's right hands.

Jaron opened the large wooden door to the common house and gestured for them to enter.

Inside, long tables filled the room, which was as large as the entire building. A small dais was raised in the center and a roaring fire threw flickering shadows on the wood and hide of the walls and ceiling. A wide opening in the roof allowed smoke to escape, and showed the twinkling stars beyond.

Around the fire, in wooden thrones were five men, all engaged in a heated conversation.

Jaron motioned that they should remained in place and silent while the conversation continued.

"We cannot continue to play these children's tricks against her," one fierce and craggy-faced tribesman said. Of the five, he appeared the most warlike. In his right hand, he held a massive battleaxe and his clothes were made of the hides and bones of animals. "We must strike against her kingdom, and we must do it quickly."

"Griln speaks of war, again. As if any of us would be surprised," another tribesman spoke. This one wore clothes resembling silk, and unlike Griln, the warrior, he was groomed and reserved in his demeanor. "She is no warrior. She is a child, and a spoiled one at that. We must approach this situation as is warranted–as you would approach a child who does not understand that torturing a small animal is wrong."

"We are not a small animal!" Griln bristled. "We were once a proud warrior tribe until she began poisoning our people with her magic! I say we embrace our heritage and take the fight to her and her minions. Look at her people, fattened by their rich foods. They no longer know the ways of the blade. They no longer care to test themselves in combat. They will fall like trees before my axe."

"Griln speaks wisely," the eldest of the quintet intoned. "We must not abandon who we were in favor of the temptations of change. We are warriors, and we will met this threat as warriors. However, what my bloodthirsty son does not understand is that not all battles are fought with blades. A warrior's sharpest weapon can easily be his mind. We will think before we fight, as we have always done."

Jaron leaned over and whispered to the Captain and the Doctor, "That is Tobun, the eldest. Griln is his son, and leader of our warriors. The fancy one is Ryn Fegh, a tradesman. He advocates that we should join the rest of those who were taken by force to her kingdom and become a larger more advanced tribe."

"Seems a familiar argument," the Doctor whispered to Captain Light.

"Who are the other two?" the Captain asked Jaron, ignoring the Doctor's comment. The other two thrones had their backs to the door, and those persons seated there could not be seen.

"On our right," Jaron continued, "that is Devos. He is the only survivor from another tribe far to the south. Tobun has given him the seat formerly occupied by my brother, Kemyn, who was taken by her many days past. Kemyn led our hunters, and now I hold that position."

"He's from another tribe, but has a seat on your council?" the Doctor asked.

"Tobun, Griln, and Sigg approve of it. They say it is right that we allow his tribe's customs and blood continue on within our own tribe. And he knows her ways better than we. He has been to her palace and escaped unharmed and untouched by the sickness."

"Sounds awfully suspicious," the Captain remarked. "Why do you not occupy that spot in place of your brother? Should not a hunter replace a hunter?

Jaron smiled shyly and turned his head away slightly. "Kemyn was a smart one, and filled the seat well. I only know the forest and the language of the land. Not skills helpful for the council, I'm afraid."

"And Sigg," the Doctor said. "He's the last one, to our left?"

Jaron nodded. "A good man, but his voice carries only as far as it is not drowned out by Griln or Ryn Fegh. Of the five, he is most favored by the rest of the tribe. He speaks what we simple men think, and often that is why they do not listen to him. He is Tobun's nephew."

As Jaron said this, Devos rose from his throne and began to pace around his side of the fire. His back to them, they could only hear his voice, not see his face.

"She is a powerful foe," Devos said gravely. "My people met her as warriors, too, if you remember. Her weapons bite harder than ours, even the one's we've stolen. We are no closer to understanding how they work, and her weapons grow more lethal and effective."

"But those fools don't even use them properly!" Griln exploded, rising from his throne. "I've seen them fight, and they are compelled to do so by fear! Those are not warriors, they are slaves! We can beat them if we fight!"

Devos held a hand up, and Tobun could be seen motioning for his son to sit down.

Griln did so grudgingly, causing the wooden throne to screech as his weight pushed it back slightly on the dais.

"Regardless of the guns they use, the red hand is the weapon we should fear," Devos continued. "We don't understand it, this sickness. Our people go mad in our villages, murdering those around them with this power, but their in her city, they are quite sane."

"She's bewitched them, obviously," Ryn Fegh said dismissively.

"I think we should form a party to go and speak with her," Devos offered. "When have we ever just asked what she wants? Have we not fought her from the very beginning, never asking why?"

"She is a demon child!" Griln roared. "She should be killed!"

Again, a not-so-subtle motion of the hand from Tobun ceased Griln's tirade.

"I have to agree with Devos on this," Ryn Fegh said. "Suppose we can find a way to peace with her through some sort of trade? We supply them with food and hide, they agree not to interfere with us."

"An excellent idea," Devos agreed, his back still to the spectators.

"And which of us do we send?" This was Sigg speaking. "That could be a death march. No one's going to want to go there on the off chance that a fair exchange of goods for non-interference will work."

At this, Devos seemed to ponder the question. He paced further around the fire, bringing his face into the light where they could see. "I will go, and I'm sure Ryn Fegh will volunteer. But they won't take us seriously unless Tobun goes with us."

"We will not risk my father for this foolish trade mission!" Griln countered.

Captain Light suddenly gasped and grabbed the Doctor's arm. "I know that man!"" he whispered fiercely.

"Griln?" the Doctor queried.

"Devos." the Captain replied.

"From when you were here before?"

"No, Doctor. That man is with the TDI," Captain Light replied.

"An impostor," the Doctor responded with interest. "Yes. His idea begins to make some sense then. Oh, this is very interesting, indeed."

Tobun's gaze had been wandering and his eyes fell upon the trio of men waiting at the door. Holding a hand up, halting the discussion on the dais, he said in a voice that would carry. "What is your business, Jaron? Who are these men you've brought with you?"

Devos went ashen as his eyes fell upon Captain Light, but he quickly composed himself enough to looked intrigued.

It was Griln that reacted more obviously. "Spies!" he cried. "That dim-witted hunter has brought her spies into the heart of our village!" Hefting his battle axe, he moved to attack, but his father, was up and towering over him before he could go further.

"You will sit down and shut your mouth until we seek your counsel, whelp!" Tobun commanded. "You are tolerated here because you are the warrior chief, not because of your intelligence!"

Griln chagrined, slumped back down in his throne.

"Bring them forward," Tobun ordered.

The two travelers, led by Jaron, walked up to the dais and stood in the center near the fire where the gazes of the council fell on them from five angles.

"What brings you to this village, strangers?" Tobun asked.

Seeing the Captain eyeing Devos menacingly, the Doctor quickly moved to creative mode.

"My friend and I had an accident. Our vessel has crashed upon this planet, and we were hoping you might be able to direct us to someone who can help repair our ship," he said, suddenly surprised that he had actually told the truth.

"We have no knowledge of those things here," Tobun replied. "You claim to be space travelers?"

"Uh, yes," the Doctor said, surreptitiously nudging the Captain, who was still locked in a stare with his acquaintance. "I'm the Doctor, and this is my pilot, Captain Light. We met your little problem–forgive the pun–when we landed, and she stole our valuables and left us for dead."

"Is this true?" Tobun asked, directing the question at Jaron.

"We found them bound and fleeing a vex," Jaron replied. "There was a metal ship nearby, not like those that fall from the sky."

"Yes, about those," the Doctor interrupted. "Who exactly launches the cargo ships into space in the first place?"

Ryn Fegh explained, "The Kingdom of the Red Hand digs rocks from the ground and puts them in towers. These towers fly into space, and then come back down later, empty of the rocks that had filled them. You claim to have come from one of these ships?"

"We came in our own ship," Captain Light stated. His eyes had not left Devos's face. "There is a security grid around this planet that destroys any that try to land here."

"And you just happened to survive?" Devos replied cynically.

Avoiding the question, the Doctor pressed in a different direction. "Have you met other space travelers?"

Tobun answered, "Our people first were contacted by space travelers long ago. They offered us their science, as they called it. It was sorcery to us, but only in that we did not understand it. We are not an unintelligent people, just a people that prefers the simplicity of nature. They respected our wishes to keep our traditions, though we allowed some of our young people to leave this planet. The travelers stopped coming when I was very young."

The Doctor was about to continue his questioning when Tobun raised a hand.

"We should adjourn this council meeting and continue the discussion tomorrow," he told his contemporaries. "We have guests, and should show them our hospitality. As I said, it has been an age since men have come to us from space."

Both Griln and Devos seemed poised to make a retort, but both held their tongues, and likely for very different reasons.

"Jaron, take our guests to my hut while I have a word with my son," Tobun directed. "I will join you for a meal shortly. The rest of you should return to your duties until tomorrow. I will not make a decision on the matter of sending our people to her kingdom until tomorrow."

Sigg, Devos, and Ryn Fegh nodded their heads and left the common house, Captain Light eyeing them every step of the way. Griln remained seated in his throne, scuffing a boot on the floor like a boy who knows he's about to be punished.

"Thank you for your hospitality, sir," the Doctor said, bowing his head slightly.

"You may call me Tobun," the old tribesman said. "And don't thank me until you've eaten my food." This last he said with a wink.

Jaron led the Captain and the Doctor outside where immediately the Doctor hit the Captain on the arm.

"What are you thinking?" he accused in a whisper. "You nearly cut him in two with your eyes. Don't you know subtlety?"

Before the Captain could respond, Devos was standing before them. He looked at both the Doctor and the Captain in turn before turning his eyes to Jaron. "Why don't you go on ahead, Jaron. I'll send them along shortly. I think I may have some information that will help them with their transportation problem."

Jaron looked suspicious, but after a nod from the Doctor, he left the three men to themselves.

"Devos, is it?" the Captain said snarkily. "I much prefer Snotty Tom."

"Shut your mouth, Light," Devos snapped back. "You're lucky I don't vape you right here."

"Hello, I'm the Doctor," the Doctor said cheerfully, extending his hand. "We've not met."

Devos gaped. "Oh, Drustan. You'll fry for this. Do you know who this man is?"

"Enlighten me, Snotty Tom, is it?" the Doctor teased. "Tell me who you think I am."

"Last of the Time Lords, and a rogue one at that. Our greatest enemy," Devos replied. "And, you, Captain Light, will be reported for fraternizing with him."

"What are you doing here, Devos?" Captain Light asked, his eyes narrowed. "This is a non-interference sector."

"You know damned well what I am doing here. I'm countering the paradox you started!" Devos accused.

"Now wait," the Doctor said, stepping between them, positioning himself as being on neither side for the moment. "The Captain tells me that this planet was always primitive. It would seem to me that any change towards what it is right now would be done separately from–" he paused, then shook his head, before turning back to the Captain. "You idiot. You _made_ this a primitive planet. You're not with the TDI, you're a time-meddling thief!"

Now, the Doctor stepped to face the Captain with Devos, but Devos immediately pushed him back with the Captain.

"You are both the worst time fiends this universe has ever seen," Devos declared. "And it is my duty to report you and see to it that the paradoxes you've brought into existence are unraveled."

The Doctor ignored him, and continued his accusation of the Captain. "Oh, it's very clever isn't it. Stop a species from evolving so that its relics go up in value, you sick and petty man. I knew you were a time bandit from the first time I laid eyes on you."

"Shut up!" Captain Light barked at the Doctor. As he did so, his hand shot out and a silver device sparked as it made contact with Devos's bare arm. Immediately, Devos stood straight at attention, staring straight ahead. "You're damned lucky this isn't you."

"Oi, what did you just do to him?" the Doctor asked.

"He has remotely hijacked my neural pathways, in a manner of speaking," Devos said in a monotone voice.

The Doctor's eyes went wide. "That's cyberman technology!"

"Now you listen to me," Captain Light said threateningly. "Think about where we are. We're stuck here and we need a way off this planet. It doesn't matter who I am or what I've done, we're both in the same jam. This is your fault for interfering with me. What I said is true, I want to know what happened to this planet, too."

"Oh right, because you've got important relics you left here you need to cash in on, and you can't if the species that made them isn't extinct!"

"No!" Captain Light yelled. "I came back here because in one of those relics there may be evidence that the entire TDI has been corrupted by a malevolent organization bent upon destroying this universe!"

"Ridiculous!" the Doctor countered. "Now you're just making stories up because you've been outed as a time bandit."

"I am not a time bandit, Doctor. And I'm not TDI either. They kicked me out when I discovered information that proved they had been infiltrated by another group. Ulysses _did _hire me, but it was to investigate this shadow group, not pull a job as part of the TDI _or_ as a bandit."

Captain Light took a deep breath.

"Now, you're going to have to trust me. If we get out of this, I can prove it all to you. We have to work together first, though. And right now we're expected at dinner."

"Fine," the Doctor replied coldly. "What about him?"

Captain Light turned to the rigid Devos. "Go back to whatever hut you've been staying in and sleep until the council meeting tomorrow."

"Very well," Devos droned, and then walked off.

"That technology is–"

"That technology just saved our life, Doctor," the Captain finished for him. "Don't worry. I'm not a cyberman, obviously."

"That does not excuse you using it!"

"That man could have zapped us to TDI headquarters in a second, and we'd be executed in two. We're both fugitives."

Captain Light turned and followed the direction Jaron had gone. The Doctor huffed and jogged after him.

"Alright, we'll work together for the time being, but we are having words after this is over," the Doctor said catching up. "We've got to get our things back, get your relic, and get out of here."

"And how do we do that, Doctor?" the Captain asked.

"We volunteer to go to the Kingdom of the Red Hand with Tobun and the rest," the Doctor replied conclusively.

"My thoughts exactly."


	7. 6 The Death Tribe and the Goddess

6. The Death Tribe and the Goddess

Tobun's hut was modest in size compared to some of the other dwellings in the village. Some tribesmen had built their homes into the largest trees at the edges of the clearing, leading to some intricate and large designs. Their eldest member, however, was a man of minimal needs. Thick boughs made up the structure, with stretched hides forming a roof over. The hut was octagonal in shape and very closely resembled a yurt.

Women of the tribe, the first either of the time travelers had seen since arriving, brought in a series of steaming, deep pots, all with different meats and vegetables on skewers inside. Tobun explained that everything they were eating had been caught or harvested that same day. The forest was apparently verdant with flora and fauna, and while agriculture was not a technology unknown to the tribe, the sheer volume of edible plants growing naturally did not require them to grow and tend their own food, or find solutions for irrigation.

The meal was well received by both the Doctor, who politely accepted the fifth and sixth round of food even though he was feeling very uncomfortable well before pushing his bowl away.

The Captain, who had finally been tended to by Tobun's trusted healers, had a healthy appetite and ate twice as much as either of the other men.

"We appreciate your hospitality, Tobun," the Doctor said to him. "And now that I have eaten your food I _will_ say thank you."

"Yes, this was a fine feast," Captain Light agreed, belching behind a fist.

"I take it by your tone and polite shifting of your bowls that you are now moving from accepting gifts to demanding answers," Tobun said with a slight smirk. "But before we begin, I want you to know that I purposefully ended the discussion earlier in order that you would hear only information that would help you. While the men that help me in the affairs of this village are wise in their own ways, each has their own agenda, and all would have given you different versions of the answers you are probably looking for."

"Well, thank you for that," the Doctor replied. "We realize our coming here is met with some suspicion."

"I do not suspect you of being anything other than two travelers waylaid on their journey. I will do what I can to help you, and the rest of the tribe will do as command them. Now, let us speak less of the moment and more of that which is unknown to you. Ask your questions."

The Doctor and the Captain looked at each other, and Captain Light nodded for the Doctor to go ahead.

"How long has she been here?" the Doctor asked. "Does she have a name?"

"Long before I was born, and before my father's father's father was born, she was here," Tobun answered. "And next you will ask how she has not aged. Ages ago we worshiped her as a goddess, and so the dream of her has always been alive in our minds. She is the only goddess in the pantheon, and so we simply call her Goddess. The rest of our gods took the form of men or animals. The palace where she gathers her followers was a temple built for worship of her, though we abandoned it long ago when the Death Tribe appeared."

"Why then?" the Doctor pressed.

"It was a dark time for our people, and we were very nearly destroyed by the Death Tribe. We turned from our gods after seeing that they had abandoned us to the evil force that spawned our wicked brothers. The Death Tribe took over the temple, and the Death God used it as his seat of power. The Death Tribe believed a prophecy that they had been chosen to purify the planet. The Death God convinced them that if our species were to survive on this planet, it would eventually spawn a child that would destroy everything, the planet, the stars. And so they slaughtered us, and they did so with suicidal fervor, knowing that their deaths had purpose. The planet was once swarming with different tribes, but most were either destroyed or turned to the beliefs of the Death Tribe."

Captain Light shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and the Doctor was not oblivious to it.

"I notice that your people have survived," the Doctor responded. "How long ago did all this happen?"

"My grandfather was a child when the Death Tribe was defeated and the Death God disappeared. The temple remained empty until two winters ago. That was when new stars began to appear in our sky. The people began to say that new gods had arrived to protect us. And that is when she appeared," Tobun said gravely.

At this, the Captain sat forward. "Did she come in a ship from space?"

Tobun shook his head. "As I told you before, the last spaceship to land here left when I was a child. There was a tribe that made their homes in the cliffs to the North of the temple, some distance from here. We once traded with them quite frequently. Ryn Fegh had taken his caravan there on his winter route, but when he arrived the village was abandoned except for one man who was dying. The man had cut off his hands, and with his last words he told Ryn Fegh that the entire village had been possessed by the Goddess and had gone to her temple.

"Ryn Fegh traveled to the temple to verify this, and he spied lights there that had not been there before. Keeping hidden, he watched the temple, and, indeed, the tribe were all there, and each of them had a red right hand. Ryn Fegh attempted to speak with him, but they acted as if he was not there. They went about their lives in a happy daze, eating and drinking and socializing, but only with those who bore the red hand. Ryn was invisible to them. Before he left, he says he saw the Goddess descend from the temple and the people bow to her. In fear and awe, Ryn Fegh fled back to us, and related his tale."

"And then this … disease," the Doctor mused. "The red right hand began to spread to other villages? Including your own?"

"News of the rebirth of the Goddess, coupled with the new constellations in the sky caused a resurgence in the worship of the old gods. Ryn Fegh, being a traveling merchant, spread his tale along his caravan route, and so, many of the tribes also began this worship, some more than others. They began pilgrimages to the temple, and most never returned, but some did. Those of our village that returned bore the red hand, though the happiness and contentment that Ryn Fegh witnessed at the temple did not carry back to their villages. They demanded we all return with them to the temple and give ourselves to the Goddess. Those affected were violent and possessed a deadly power in those hands. If we attempted to restrain them or attack them, they would cause the attackers to turn to dust."

"What about the other weapons, the plasma rifles and such," Captain Light interjected. "Where did they come from?"

"Devos can tell you better than I," Tobun admitted. "His tribe fought them in combat. When Devos made his way to our village after his tribe was slaughtered, that was the first we heard of the weapons."

The Doctor and Captain Light exchanged glances.

"I think that about covers it," Captain Light said, standing from his seat. "We really appreciate–"

"Wait a moment," the Doctor interrupted him. "Tobun, I have a few more questions, if you don't mind."

Tobun nodded for the Doctor to proceed. Captain Light seemed reluctant to sit back down, but did so with a sigh.

"This Death Tribe. How exactly did you defeat them?" the Doctor asked.

"A hero appeared. Some say he was the very child the prophecies said would bring about the destruction of all things, already born and grown to adulthood. He united the tribes that were left and led them against the Death God. Shortly after that final battle, the hero disappeared. My grandfather said that the hero came from our tribe, and when he returned after defeating the Death God, the village elders gave him an artifact of great power that allowed him to leave this place forever."

"Sounds like every other hero prophecy I've ever heard. I'm sure they've got a genesis story and a great flood like everyone else, too," the Captain quipped.

"Well, it might be important," the Doctor countered. "Suppose that Death God, or whatever was behind it, somehow survived."

"Last question," the Doctor continued. "Does anyone see the Goddess outside of her temple?"

"You yourself claim to have seen her," Tobun replied.

"Yes, aside from us."

"She sometimes is seen in the forest, but only a handful of men ever escape her. Her touch brings the red hand. I am surprised that neither of you have it, having been captured by her. It is unusual." Tobun looked at both of them in turn. "The others will accuse you of being in league with her, but I believe otherwise."

"I am glad you trust us," the Doctor replied nervously. "We desperately need to get off this planet. We want no trouble with you or your people."

"Huts have been arranged for you, and you will stay with us until we leave for the temple. I am assuming you wish to go with us, should the council decide to send a party to her."

"So, you will go with us? It could be dangerous," the Doctor replied, concerned.

"I am not so old as I appear. I will do all I can to help you," Tobun said solemnly. He then added, "Time lord."

Both the Captain and the Doctor were shocked into silence.

"Your people are the space travelers that first aided us long ago. I can hear the beat of your two hearts from here."

Tobun smiled a bit cheekily at the Doctor.

—

Devos was the last to arrive to the common house for the council meeting the next day.

The Doctor was quick to berate the Captain for the hijacked man's robotic gait. "Can't you do something about that?" he whispered harshly. "He looks like a marionette."

"You try to control a life-size puppet while someone's badgering you," the Captain snapped back. He adjusted a knob on a device wrapped around his wrist.

The two guests of the tribe had been given smaller seats on the dais with the other five, and sat to the left of Tobun's throne. While both Griln and Sigg were slightly upset at their being given such access, Ryn Fegh seemed to accept the word of Tobun that the travelers could be trusted.

"I hope that this will be a short discussion," Tobun said to the assembled tribesmen. Several dozen members of the tribe were also in attendance and sat at the long tables surrounding the dais. "Yesterday it was decided that the time has come for us to confront the Goddess and her people, and the only decision that remains is that of who will go to bargain for peace with her."

Several warriors that were present, obviously at the behest of Griln, stood and shouted their disapproval.

"Silence!" Tobun bellowed. The warriors immediately took their seats, as quick to obey as Tobun's own son.

"War has already been brought to her by a tribe well suited for it, and they have failed. We must take a different path," Tobun continued. "We will ask that she leave our village in peace, and we will agree to supply her with whatever she may desire that we can produce for her."

Murmurs broke out among the assembled tribe.

"As the leader of this tribe, it is my duty to go and represent our people. Griln and Devos will accompany me."

Several negative shouts erupted from throughout the common house.

Shouting above their cries, Tobun said, "I realize the danger that exists. And that is why I leave you two trustworthy council members to lead you should our mission fail and we not return. Sigg and Ryn Fegh will remain behind and carry on the work of the council. Jaron will also be given a temporary seat, if he will accept it."

Jaron looked immediately embarrassed from his table of hunters, but nodded his acceptance solemnly.

"These men will protect you while we are away. If we should not return, they will direct the future of this tribe. They each have my blessing in the pursuit, should it come to pass."

Turning back to the council, Tobun declared, "These are the conditions of our journey, and each of us knows the roles proposed. Are we in agreement that this shall be?"

Griln, Sigg, and Ryn Fegh all spoke "Aye!" in turn. Devos remained silent.

"Devos?" Tobun asked, awaiting his response.

The Doctor politely stepped on the Captain's boot and ground his heel into the toe.

"Aye," Devos stated very monotonously as the Captain stifled a curse.

"Jaron?" Tobun prompted, turning to him.

"Aye," Jaron stated proudly. "May I serve as you desire."

Tobun nodded. "Then we leave as the sun reaches its peak. Trust in those we've left behind to guide you, and let your thoughts be with us as we journey to the temple for the betterment of our peoples."

With that, the assembly stood and began to filter out of the common house.

"They really trust him, don't they?" the Captain observed. "He could tell them anything and they'd go along with it."

"The fact that he doesn't is why they trust him," the Doctor replied.

—

Four of Griln's warriors were chosen as escort, and they took up positions in front and behind the group as it left the village for the temple in the Kingdom of the Red Hand.

Most of the village turned out to see them off, and the tribe gave them a cheer as they set out.

As Tobun had remarked, he was not as old as he looked, and the pace he set was quick. Several times he had to prod the warriors in front of him to move faster. They made good time, as far as the Doctor could tell. They reached the promontory that offered the view of the temple in the distance in less time than it had taken the Doctor and the Captain to reach the village from there.

They moved in silence for the most part, but occasionally Tobun regaled them with tales out of the tribe's legends as they walked.

When they camped for the night, Tobun and his son related the climactic battle against the Death Tribe as it had been told to them. The Doctor listened with interest, but the Captain seemed bored with the tale and curled up to sleep well before the others.

Their warrior escorts took turns on watch, but the night passed without incident.

After a quick breakfast, they were on the move again and the column of travelers had just attained their pace from the previous day when a strange sound was heard in the distance. The forest was thick overhead except directly over the narrow trail they followed. It was impossible to see the direction the sound was coming from.

"Sounds like a ship," the Captain remarked.

The warriors took up defensive positions around the group, and pulled their wicked axes from their backs.

"Chariots!" Griln growled. "They're going to attack."

The warrior chief, who never let go of his massive battleaxe, hefted it and stood protectively in front of his father.

"Now how do you know they'll attack us?" the Doctor remarked. "Perhaps they've come to give us a ride?"

As the Doctor said this, one chariot, really just a platform with a massive plasma gun mounted to a steering column, appeared ahead of them, dropping down to the trail from above. As it touched down, the weapon fired twice, vaporizing two of the warriors instantly.

Another chariot appeared behind them, and just as quickly, the other two warriors were eliminated, leaving Griln with the only weapon.

From both chariots, a handful of uniformed men disembarked carrying plasma weaponry. Each had a red right hand, and on their uniforms they bore an insignia that matched it, a red right hand set on a golden triangle.

"Throw down the axe!" one of the men demanded to Griln, leveling his weapon at him.

Griln sneered at the soldiers, gripping his hilt tighter. "Why don't you come and take it from me?"

The rest of the group clumped together, warily watching the exchange.

"We will take you to the Goddess unharmed, but you will not enter the Kingdom of the Red Hand with weapons!" the soldier barked. "Last chance, or you'll be vaped like your inadequate escort."

"He can be trusted not to use it. I give you my assurances," Devos said suddenly. "Now, lower your own weapons and escort us to the temple as you were instructed."

The Doctor looked at the Captain who seemed deep in concentration.

Immediately, the soldiers lowered their weapons.

"Devos," Tobun said, turning to him. "You know these men?"

"All will be revealed in time," Devos said cryptically.

"Traitor!" Griln accused. Tobun put a hand out and held his son's shoulder.

"Third party, we'll say," Devos said, his voice very monotonous. Turning, he walked to the chariot that had landed first and stood on the platform. "These should hold us adequately. The pilots will take us to the temple, and the remaining soldiers can walk back."

The soldiers seemed about to protest when Devos shouted, "That is an order! Now help them aboard."

Confused, the Doctor and the others allowed themselves to be herded onto the vehicles–the Doctor and Captain with Devos, and Griln and Tobun on the other. One soldier joined each group and the rest stayed behind as the chariots lifted off.

"What are you playing at?" the Doctor demanded of the Captain as soon as they were airborne.

"Look at their hands," the Captain said, pointing surreptitiously to the pilot.

The Doctor scrutinized the pilot's right hand carefully before spotting it. The man was sweating. The sweat was causing the red paint on his hand to run.

"TDI?" the Doctor whispered. "Faking loyalty to the Goddess?"

"It appears so," the Captain answered.

"How did you notice that in all the ruckus?" the Doctor asked, perplexed.

"I didn't. I recognized the weapons," he answered. "Took a chance on Devos though."

"Well, I won't complain on that point," the Doctor replied. "We may have lost Griln if that went on. I anticipate we may need him later."

The chariots rose above the trees and set off toward the temple. Primitive in comparison to technology both the Doctor and Captain had seen in their travels, it was sorcery to Griln, who nearly swooned directly off the platform. Twice during their flight, a stream of vomit fell from the platform and splattered on the tops of trees as they passed.

Hundreds of people milled around in the clearing that held the massive ziggurat. Stone buildings had been erected around the temple in patterns radiating out.

"Those are new construction," the Doctor pointed out as they flew overhead. "They look like barracks."

"The faithful have to sleep somewhere," the Captain remarked.

The chariots rose over the top of the ziggurat revealing a courtyard at its center. Both chariots hovered briefly before descending into the structure and setting down in the courtyard where a dozen men stood bearing spears with their red right hands.

Stepping off the chariots, Griln less gracefully than the rest, the visitors were grouped together and surrounded.

Tobun saw an opportunity to speak. "We come to speak with the Goddess and would like to make an offer of friendship to her."

Those with the spears ignored them. They seemed to be as lifeless and robotic as Devos, though the Doctor doubted it was the same technology. The spearmen all had smiles.

A woman in a long silk dress approached them and bowed deeply to Tobun. Her right hand was red.

"Elder Tobun," she said reverantly. "We have been expecting you for some time. You are the last of the great tribe leaders to offer his service to the Goddess. Did you not trust the judgment of the rest of us? Did we not tell you it would be better this way? We sent many messengers to you. Did they not convince you?"

"You sent our own men and women back to us! They killed people for no reason in their madness!" Tobun fumed. "I trust you, Laara, no more than I trust the men that just murdered four of my warriors. You were always devious, even before you came here."

"Bad blood there," the Doctor whispered. The Captain nodded in agreement.

Turning to Devos, Laara smiled. "Welcome back, Devos." Suddenly she touched her right hand to his face. Devos's eyes went wide with horror and he screamed. Neither Griln nor Tobun moved to help him.

The Captain, suddenly inhaling sharply, ripped the device from his wrist and let it drop to the ground where it began to smoke.

Before their eyes, Devos's right red began to slowly turn red.

As his scream faded, a smile played across his face. He then turned and stood next to Laara, who looked back to Tobun with a smile. "Don't worry, we'll get to you and your son soon enough. Devos here failed me and my Goddess and needs immediate punishment."

Laara then stepped over to the Doctor and the Captain. "You two are quite the clever ones, aren't you? The Goddess has very special plans for the both of you." She crouched momentarily and picked up the device that the Captain had been wearing. "I believe you'll find Devos less suggestive than before." She held the device teasingly before the Captain's face before tossing it aside.

"Now, are you prepared to meet the Goddess?"

"Oh yes, very much so," the Doctor said cheerfully.

This seemed to displease Laara. "The only reason you do not belong to us is that my Goddess commands you stay disconnected."

"Interesting terminology," the Doctor replied with a smile.

"Where is Penelope?" the Captain demanded.

"Oh, you mean the sparkly little cube?" said a voice behind them. Turning collectively, they all saw the diminutive Goddess walking towards them.

"I thought I left you two to die," she said disappointedly. "Why didn't you obey me?"

"Look, we just want to get off this planet," the Captain pleaded. "Why don't you just give me back my AI, and we'll leave you to this, whatever this is."

"You both went through an awful lot of trouble to get here, Captain Drustan Light, formerly of the Temporal Defense Initiative. You've already been disciplined for interfering in a TDI mission, what makes you think we'll allow you to do so again?"

"What?" the Captain said, surprised. "You're TDI?"

"My mission here is to prevent a paradox," the Goddess replied. "I'm saving the universe."

"There's no way you're TDI, you're too young," he replied.

"Appearances can be deceiving," she snapped back quickly. Turning to the Doctor, she added, "Isn't that right, Doctor? How _is_ our dear Doctor Watson, or what's his name again, Jeffrey? I bet he has a lot … on his mind."

The Doctor's mouth gaped open.

"Oh yes," she nodded. "You were on the right track, though entirely by accident."

She turned from them and snapped her fingers. From a side corridor, several men quickly carried in an ornate throne, which she then sat upon, her child size causing its voluminous cushions to nearly engulf her.

"And so here we are," she giggled. "Thank you for coming to my party."

"What are you up to?" the Doctor demanded. "Whatever it is, I'll find a way to stop you. You ruined a good man, and I won't let you do it again."

"Well, let's see," she replied, touching a finger to her chin. "First, a tea party, then we give Mr. Grumpy Tobun and his apeish son a lovely red hand, and then we kill you."

"What's the red hand for?" the Doctor finally asked.

"Like all TDI business," she replied. "It is none of yours."


	8. 7 Tea and Nemesis

7. Tea and Nemesis

"The tea party shall commence in one hour," the Goddess's spearman said to the group as he roughly escorted them into their cell. "A wash basin has been provided so that you might make yourselves presentable."

The cell door slammed shut, its echo adding a foreboding finality to their plight, and the four men were left to themselves in a small circular room with a table, four chairs, and, as the spearman promised, a wash basin.

"Well, at least she's civil," the Doctor remarked. With a deep sigh, he sat down in one of the chairs and let his head slump into open palms.

"So, what's the story here, Doctor?" the Captain asked, pulling up a chair opposite the Doctor.

"You know better than I do. She's your people." The Doctor casually sat upright, staring at the Captain with an accusing gaze, and folded his hands before him. Tobun took a seat with them, but Griln began to pace.

"If I could only get within range, I could communicate with Penelope," the Captain said to himself more than the others.

"What do you mean?" the Doctor asked, interested. "You can communicate telepathically?"

"Within a certain range. It's not telepathy, it's digital. I have an implant," Captain Light explained, tapping his temple.

"Any other technology you have on you that we should know about?" the Doctor asked. "Dalek death ray? Pocket-size Absorbotron?"

"We could break this table and chairs and fashion weapons!" Griln exclaimed suddenly, slamming his fists on the table.

"No violence!" the Doctor replied bluntly, to which Griln responded by sulking. "With the exception of the Goddess herself, it appears these people are not in full control of themselves. You'd be harming people that can't help themselves. She's a very clever girl, this one, but I still don't get it. What is the significance of the red hand?"

"Do you think that's how they're being controlled?" the Captain asked.

Tobun had remained silent since the Goddess had appeared to them, but politely cleared his throat before speaking. "It has long been my wish to keep our people true to the ways of our ancestors while embracing change as it benefited us. Perhaps we are merely being stubborn and should do as the Goddess commands."

"No, no," the Doctor interjected. "Don't say that. These people are not looking out for the interests of you or your tribe, or your planet for that matter. We're missing something here."

"What about the mining? They're using the people they control to mine Vollusite from the planet," the Captain offered.

"Coincidence," the Doctor said dismissively. "The rubidium is an element required for their method of time travel. It's merely convenient to have these people mine it for them. She said they're here to stop a paradox, and that's vaguely similar to what we've heard previously. The Death Tribe, remember?"

"You think they've been here before?" the Captain asked, taking a seat.

"I do. I believe that Death God was none other than a TDI operative," the Doctor said, his eyes on Captain Light. "The circumstances are the same. Control the population. Stop an event from happening. Spin it primitively and it's religion and prophecy."

The Captain shifted in his seat and stared down at the table.

"Why do you always get so uncomfortable when someone talks about the Death Tribe, Captain Light?" the Doctor asked carefully.

The Captain sighed, but did not answer.

"This all smacks of something familiar," the Doctor said with a sigh. "I just can't shake it loose."

Before the Doctor could press further, the door slammed open and several armed spearmen entered.

"That wasn't even close to an hour," the Doctor remarked.

"The Goddess is displeased that no one used the wash basin we provided you, and has decided that the tea party should commence now," one of the spearmen said. "You will come with us now."

Roughly, the spearmen ushered the Goddess's special guests out of their cell and down several hallways that the Doctor noticed had been disguised by walls before.

"We're near the relic room," the Captain whispered to him.

"Sounds like something only a Death God would know," the Doctor hissed back.

The Captain seemed shocked. "Doctor, I never-"

"Don't bother," the Doctor interrupted. "I can put thirty-seven and the square root of seven thousand forty-three together."

The guards led them into a long banquet hall with a high ceiling. A table occupied most of the room, and it was covered in food. Platters of strange steaming meats and artistic arrangements of fruits of every imaginable color broke the otherwise monotonous stone color of the room.

The Doctor noticed that several tapestries had been removed recently, evidenced by the subtle discoloration of long strips on the wall where they would have hung. At the back of the room, behind an ornate throne holding the diminutive deity, a single tapestry showed a right red hand, and on the palm of the hand...

"The Seal of Rassilon," the Doctor exhaled.

"Explain that one, Doctor," the Captain said with a smirk.

"I don't think I can," the Doctor replied.

"Welcome everyone!" the Goddess exclaimed, standing up in her throne. "Have a seat, enjoy yourselves."

When none of them moved, the spearmen roughly grabbed each of the group and forced them into chairs.

"A bit shy, are we?" the Goddess said with a smile. "It's understandable. I have that effect on people."

She grabbed the red hand of one of the spearmen standing near her and waved it at them. "I also have _this _effect on people. Tell me Doctor, have you figured it out yet?"

"Not at this time," the Doctor replied unhappily. "But I have some questions-"

"Silence!" the Goddess fumed. "This is my tea party and I decide what we talk about."

Jumping up, she allowed herself to fall into the voluminous cushions of her throne, and then took a sip from the tea cup in front of her. Smacking her lips, she looked to each of the men in turn.

"I think we should play questions. I'll ask a question, and then you answer. We'll take turns. How about that?"

Turning to Tobun she asked, "How quickly do you think we'll control your tribe after you walk back to your village with a red right hand?"

"My people will not give into you, no matter what tricks you may devise," Tobun answered steadily. "They are strong without me, and will see through to your true intentions."

The Goddess raspberried his replied and then turned to Griln. "What is the-"

"I thought we were going to take turns," the Doctor interjected. "When do we ask questions of you?"

"That is not the game I described, Doctor," she replied. "I said I ask a question, and then you answer, and then we take turns. Don't worry, silly Time Lord. You'll get your turn to answer questions."

She looked at each of the men, and then the food and drink before them. "Why are you not eating?" She seemed to think it through for a moment. "You don't think it's poison, do you?"

They did not answer, and in response the Goddess laughed maniacally. "Oh come now, boys. I'm just a little girl. Not so evil as that. I'll prove it."

She turned to one of the spearmen. "You. Eat this," she commanded, throwing one of the fruits to him.

The spearmen ate a few bites, then shrugged.

"See?" she said in a singing voice.

A few seconds passed and still no one reached for any of the food. Finally, Griln shrugged and reached for a piece of meat. Just as he lifted it to his mouth, the spearman fell over quite dead.

The Goddess laughed gleefully at Griln, who quickly threw the meat aside. Standing in rage, Griln roared, "Enough! We will not play these childish games any longer! Either you-"

Before any of them could warn him, Griln was in her grip. Slowly, his right hand turned red.

Tobun rose from his seat in horror, but spearmen surrounded him quickly and forced him back down into his seat.

"Damn," the Goddess sighed in disappointment. "I had hoped to see this one die choking on meat. Stupid fast poison."

Griln quietly sat back down in his chair with a smile on his face.

"Now, you Doctor," the Goddess said turning to the Time Lord. "Why are you here?"

"A rather vague question, but to answer narrowly, I'm at this place right now to stop you, obviously," he replied.

"Doctor," the Goddess laughed. "I don't think you really know who we are. And, whatever this fool has told you, you can rest assured he has no idea either."

Turning quickly to Captain Light, she asked, "And you, Captain Light. How bad do you want this little cube here?"

From under one of the cushions, the Goddess removed the blue cube that held Captain Light's AI companion. As soon as she did so, her face locked into a rictus of shock and disbelief. The cube flashed rapidly and pulses of what appeared to be blue light shot up the Goddess's arm and into her head.

Several of the spearmen slumped to the ground, while others looked around with confused looks on their faces. Their hands were still red, but whatever control the Goddess had over them had been terminated.

Griln shook his head, and seeing that the Goddess was vulnerable, he rose to throttle her.

"Stop Griln," Tobun commanded. "Something has happened."

"It's tricky, Captain," the Goddess said in a voice that was not her own. The Doctor recognized as soon as the Captain did.

"Penelope!" they said together.

"This platform is connected to something else in this structure. It is quite agile, but I think I have it tied up in loops for a while," Penelope said through the Goddess.

"It's an android?" the Captain asked in disbelief.

"Only this platform," the Goddess said. "That which controlled it is ... something else."

The Doctor quickly moved over to the Goddess and reached into one of her pockets, removing his sonic screwdriver with a flourish. "Now, let's see just what you are."

Wielding his sonic screwdriver confidently, the Doctor activated it near the android's neck. After a few seconds of warbling from the sonic screwdriver a small panel popped open at the back of the android's neck.

The Captain quickly checked the Goddess's chair and found his blaster also hidden among the cushions. Slipping it back into its holster beneath his duster, he then moved quickly to check the entrances in the room for TDI agents that weren't under the Goddess's control.

Having given a cursory glance to an engraved panel, the Doctor seemed satisfied and shut the panel. "Therapy droid, probably originally belonging to one of the spacefarers that have visited here. It's been hijacked. And I'll bet the red hand is bio-electrical. When she touches you, you're infected by nanoworms or some such nastiness."

"You are correct, Doctor," Penelope intoned.

The Captain did not hesitate. "How long can you maintain control over her?"

"At the current rate of loop failure, I can keep the entity contained for 120.922583 minutes," she explained. "At that point, the platform will reject me."

"Do you need to be touching her?" the Captain asked.

"No."

Smiling, the Captain snatched the cube and pocketed it. "Come on, Doctor. We've got a limited amount of time to grab these relics and get off this rock."

The Doctor remained seated. "So that's it? You get your precious relics, and then you're off?"

"That's right, Doc. Now, get off your ass," the Captain said, waving him to come on.

"What about these people? What about this planet?" the Doctor asked, standing and gesturing to the spearmen still wandering around aimlessly. "What about our responsibility to help them?"

"It's done," the Captain replied desperately. "They're free!"

"Now! But what about when whatever Penelope is holding back gets control over this platform?"

The Captain paused. "Then we destroy it."

"I would suggest you wait until I am able to mine valuable data about their purpose here. This platform has a certain amount of data storage on board. I should be able to determine a great deal of its purpose here," Penelope explained through the Goddess.

"I agree with Penelope," the Doctor said. "I came here for information, not relics."

"Fine," the Captain relented. "Penelope, run your scan. Doctor, follow me."

"They're coming, too," the Doctor said, pointing to Griln and his father.

"Fine!" the Captain barked over his shoulder.

The three of them followed Captain to the tapestry that hung behind the Goddess's throne. Pulling it aside, he revealed a darkened corridor.

"I knew that was there," the Doctor said quickly.

Captain Light scoffed and waved for them to follow him in. Griln hefted a decorative axe from its place on the wall before take his place at the rear.

For several minutes, they followed the Captain down several passages, backtracking twice when he became lost.

"We're running out of time, Captain," the Doctor pressed. "Whatever is controlling the Goddess may have other minions, and there's the rest of those TDI agents about. They might suspect something when the majority of the people here start wondering why they're here. We need to get back to Penelope."

"Aha!" Captain Light exclaimed, turning a corner the Doctor was sure they'd turn three times before. This time, however, the corridor opened into a large chamber, lit by a small number of torches.

As they approached a raised dais with an intricately carved table on it, Captain Light turned and gave the Doctor a smile.

The smile quickly faded as he turned his attention to the table. Rushing forward, he looked around in desperation. "Where's the other one?"

The Doctor stepped up behind him and examined the single egg-shaped relic on the table. "That's it?"

"There were two left," Captain Light said angrily, slamming his fist on the table.

"Oh, too bad," the Doctor remarked sarcastically. "Only half the profits."

Turning on the Doctor, Captain Light got in his face. "I've had it with you. You don't know the first thing about me. You assume that-"

The Doctor's eyes widened slightly as they caught sight of something behind the Captain. Seeing that the Doctor's attention was elsewhere, Captain Light followed his gaze. Both Griln and Tobun were looking at it too.

A large tapestry behind the table depicted several men in dark running from a figure in a long duster holding a small blue cube. The figure in the duster was standing on another black figure with a skull for a face.

Captain Light sighed and turned back to the relic in silence.

"I am sorry," the Doctor said to his back. "I didn't know."

"You are the one that vanquished the Death God!" Tobun said in awe. "But how? You've not aged."

"I travel through time. That wasn't so long ago for me," the Captain explained.

"But the stories say you were of our tribe," Tobun replied, confused.

"I am," Drustan said, turning around to face the three men now staring at him. He seemed about to explain further, but apparently decided against it and turned away from them.

"Why did you come back?" the Doctor asked softly.

"I wanted to save my mother," Captain Light said quickly, not giving them anymore than that.

Both Griln and Tobun fell to their knees and bowed to the Captain.

"Oh stop it!" both the Doctor and Drustan said in unison. The two tribesmen reluctantly obeyed.

"So, this relic," the Doctor prompted.

Seeing the revelation had played itself out, Captain Light turned quickly back to the table and the egg-shaped relic on a stand at its center.

"Not a relic," Captain Light corrected. "A vessel."

The Doctor's brow furrowed as memories and half-forgotten snippets of random knowledge began to click together. "And what's inside?"

"Let's find out," the Captain said frankly. Before the Doctor could stop him, The Captain pressed a small round indentation at the top of the object.

Purple lightning erupted from the egg and it begin to rise, spinning faster and faster. All four men were knocked back into a pile by the energy released at that moment.

From the corridor behind them, the Goddess came running in at that moment screaming ineffectively, "Don't activate it!"

From the pile of bodies, the Doctor quipped, "Bit late for that now."

As the four men scrambled to their feet, the egg-shaped vessel began to grow in size. The purple electricity shot out in increasingly violent bursts, causing the five onlookers to shield their eyes with each crack of energy.

"We should probably get out of here," the Doctor shouted above the tumult.

"We need to know what it is!" Captain Light shouted back.

The Goddess, still being controlled by Penelope, was about to say something when the vessel suddenly split in two, both halves separating to reveal a humanoid figure standing inside.

In robes of black, the figure had a hood pulled low over a blank, featureless mask.

"I hope that's not what I think it is," the Doctor said, backing away slightly.

"And what do you think I am, Time Lord?" a voice bellowed out from all around them.

Seeing that the entire group was backing away with him, the Doctor made up his mind, steeled himself, and stepped forward in mock confidence. "You are a Priest of Paradox," the Doctor replied frankly. "Though how you've survived, I'm not sure. My people believed your order died out long before we ever even discovered time travel. We only found vestiges and smatterings of legends to mark your passing."

"Passing?" the figure said with a laugh. "We never left, Doctor. We have always been here. Watching. Waiting. Your people failed this universe, and they failed themselves, and now the true masters of time will return to undo all the damage you've done against the paradox. You were infants when we were gods. And you've ineffectively played your games with our universe while we had transcended this universe to the multiverse beyond."

"If you're so transcendent, why bother with us? Why get involved with a primitive planet and its people?" the Doctor pressed.

The Priest of Paradox laughed and the entire structure around them reverberated with the power behind it. "No answers for you, Doctor!" it cried, its blank white mask showing naught but nothingness.

"He is pushing me out!" Penelope said with some difficulty through the clenched teeth of the Goddess.

"And now, Doctor, you will witness the power of the true masters of time!" the Priest of Paradox bellowed. Before them, the Priest began to grow in size as it raised its arms above its head. Purple lightning erupted into the room and engulfed the powerful figure in white hot flames that did not burn it or its clothes. "I will now send you into the void between universes, Doctor, for all of eternity!"

Quite suddenly, the tumultuous display stopped. The lightning dissipated, and the flames burned out. It was only then that the rest of the group could see what had happened. The Priest of Paradox wavered slightly, and a thin rivulet of ochre-colored liquid ran out from where a large axe had appeared in the center of its mask.

Those assembled turned their eyes towards Griln, who simply said, "Violence works."

The Priest of Paradox fell backward to the ground quite dead.

"My hand!" Griln cried out in pain, holding his red right hand before him. The warrior collapsed to his knees and Tobun ran to aid him. Slowly, the redness in Griln's hand turned to pink, and then resolved to the darkened tan of the warrior's natural skin tone. The look of pain on his face soon faded, too, replaced by a look of relief. "It's alright! I'm alright!"

Tobun laughed and clapped a hand on his son's shoulder happily. "We defeated her! We have defeated the Red Right Hand of the Goddess!"

The Doctor and Captain Light did not share in the mirth however. Both had concerned looks on their faces as they looked to the Goddess.

"This is not good," Penelope said through the Goddess. "There are at least two more Priests active in this universe. I've mined as much data as I could from this platform, and have been unable to determine their purpose. All I can tell you is their destinations."

"The Kelvaxan Reliquary," Captain Light said quickly, having already pieced together the first location. "The other relic I gave to Curator Heems, it was a Priest of Paradox."

"That doesn't bode well for Heems or us," the Doctor surmised, running a hand nervously through his hair. "There is a significant amount of history tied up in that museum. There's no telling what the Priest may be trying to accomplish there. Where did the other go?"

"A small planet in a neighboring galaxy," Penelope replied. "Sol-3 in the third starsector of Galaxy 3."

The Doctor's face went ashen. "I've got to go."

"You're coming with me, Doctor," the Captain demanded, grabbing the time lord's arm. "We have to do this together. I need you."

"My friends need me," the Doctor replied, shrugging his arm away. "Earth is-" hesitating, he ran his hand through his floppy hair again.

"Those two you were with," the Captain said, nodding. "At the Reliquary. I understand, Doctor. Perhaps it is best if we split up, each going after a Priest."

"Shall I destroy this platform?" Penelope asked. "It would be simple to engineer a cascading fault that would deteriorate its component mass quite quickly and completely."

"No," the Doctor countered. "I want to take it with me. I'd like to study it further and see if the mechanism of the red right hand doesn't lead me to some answers. Is the therapeutic intelligence still on board and functional?"

"It is a basic intelligence, Doctor, not nearly as advanced as myself. Perhaps I could accompany you instead?" Penelope said somewhat coyly.

"Now look," Captain Light interjected. "You're making me extremely jealous, Penny."

Penelope laughed mischievously as the Goddess for a minute before relinquishing control to the native therapeutic intelligence. The Goddess stopped laughing abruptly and stood straight and rather stiffly before saying, "Memory fault. Short-term memory unavailable. This unit must be rebooted."

"Yes, well," the Doctor said patting the Goddess's shoulder. "We'll get you sorted out."

Turning to the two native inhabitants of the planet, the Doctor smiled. "And you lot, I believe you have your planet back, though there might be a few remnants of the TDI you'll have to contend with. They won't like the disruption in the flow of fuel, but I'm sure having the full might of the tribes behind your leadership will mean their quick departure."

"Not my leadership," Tobun said, lifting his chin proudly. "Griln will lead them. It was he who saved us all this day, and this old man will at last retire to his hut and let the next generation take their place."

"Are you sure?" the Doctor said, a bit concerned. "He's awfully violent."

"I think that might be just what we'll need to turn these invaders away," Griln said grimly as he yanked the axe free from the Priest's face.

"We'll survive," Tobun said simply. "Thanks to you, Doctor."

The Doctor merely smiled and nodded. "I've got to go now. And Captain Light here should be on his way, as well."

"I'll return to check on you, Tobun," the Captain said. "There may be some more clues here to unraveling what the Priests are up to, but first I need to find that other relic."

"As a great hero from our past and present, you are always welcome, Captain Light," Tobun said bowing low to him.

"Ah, well," the Doctor said, clapping his hands together. "Anyone seen a blue box?"

It was the fifth time Rory had listened to it, and it just got better each time. The music literally vibrated through his entire body. Never before had he experienced Radiohead quite that intensely, not even the first four times.

"This implant is the absolute best," Rory remarked to himself.

Distracted by the intensity of the song playing through his mind, Rory did not notice the plate he had been washing up was now deflecting the water from the tap onto his pants and onto the floor.

Suddenly, brought back into the present, Rory gasped and dropped the plate into the sink with a clatter. The clatter seemed to echo into a heaving, wheezing sound that grew in intensity and it took Rory a few seconds to realize it was a familiar wheezing sound he had been expecting for quite some time now.

A smile played across his face as he left the tap running and sprinted for the front yard. As he burst through the front door he called out, "Amy! The Doctor is back!"

The TARDIS materialized a few feet ahead of where Rory stopped, and he waited patiently for the doors to open.

Behind him, Amelia Pond came running through the open door to their house and sidled up next to her love. They shared a smile together and pecked each other lightly on the lips before turning expectantly to greet their friend who they'd both sorely been missing.

"Wonder if he forgives me for that gunbunny business," Rory asked ashamedly.

The door to the TARDIS opened before the two companions could muse further and the Doctor stepped out hurriedly. Seeing his two companions his beaming smile erupted across his face and he held his hands out to them.

Just as suddenly as the smile had appeared, it disappeared, and the Doctor's arms fell limply at his sides.

Amy and Rory stopped just as they were about to run forward and embrace the time lord. They saw the look on his face and immediately were concerned for the entire universe.

"What is it, Doctor?" Amy asked nervously.

The Doctor was looking at their right hands.

"Oh no, not you two," the Doctor sighed. "I'm too late."

Each of the companions had a red right hand.


End file.
